US Ambassador to the UN: Iran Will Be Under Close Surveillance

Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, criticized the nuclear agreement between Tehran, Washington, and five global powers during the AIPAC meeting on April 7, stating, "We will keep a hawk's eye on Iran." She questioned, "Why was this agreement even formed, why was it approved at all; these happened before me. It’s terrible." She added, "When the Iran agreement was made, all that happened was that it empowered Iran and Russia and made Iran bolder." The US representative at the UN further stated, "We will keep a hawk's eye on Iran. We will ensure that whatever they do will be under surveillance, actions will be taken regarding it, and it will be dealt with." In another part of her speech, the US ambassador said that her government would not allow another resolution like Resolution 2334 against Israel to be passed. Referring to Resolution 2334, which was passed in the last days of Barack Obama’s presidency at the UN, Haley stated, "Such a thing will never happen again, and we will not allow anyone to doubt our support for [Israel]." The UN Security Council had passed a resolution in December of the previous year requesting Israel to stop construction in the occupied territories, without the US participating in the vote; the resolution was passed without a US veto, a situation unprecedented in decades. Haley stated at the AIPAC meeting that the days of "striking Israel are over." The US Ambassador to the UN also emphasized that the United States would respond "every time something wrong happens." Haley said, "I want to assure you that the United States has taken the lead again." Mike Pence: We will not allow Iran to produce nuclear weapons. The US Vice President also emphasized at the AIPAC meeting that Tehran's behavior and actions are under scrutiny and that the United States "will not allow Iran to produce nuclear weapons." On April 7, Pence reiterated the US government's warning that the Iranian regime has received a "formal warning" from Washington. Previously, Michael Flynn, the former National Security Advisor to the US President, had stated in February, following a missile test by Iran, that Tehran's activities pose a threat to the US, its friends, and allies in the region, and had given Tehran a "formal warning." Pence stated on the first day of the three-day AIPAC meeting, "The United States under President Donald Trump will not allow Iran to produce nuclear weapons; this is our unwavering commitment to you, to Israel, and to the world." Tehran has always emphasized that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and not for producing nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, non-cooperation with international monitoring organizations and actions that the UN Security Council did not necessarily consider peaceful during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency led to extensive sanctions against Iran. Ultimately, the government of Hassan Rouhani, Barack Obama, and five other countries reached an agreement that limited Iran's nuclear program while lifting nuclear sanctions. The nuclear agreement faced opposition from all Republican representatives in the US Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and criticism from Donald Trump during the presidential campaign. Opponents believe that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is a "bad deal." Donald Trump described the JCPOA as a "disastrous agreement" during last year's AIPAC meeting and referred to it last summer as "the dumbest and most dangerous misjudgment in US history." Nevertheless, US officials have denied reports of a willingness to unilaterally withdraw from the nuclear agreement.