The US ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday that President Trump would not stand by if the anti-government protesters in Iran are threatened, describing the commander in chief as a “man of action” unlike the UN.
US ambassador Mike Waltz reiterated America’s commitment to the protesters during an emergency meeting at the UN Security Council, warning that the US would do what it takes to ensure the demonstrators’ safety.
“President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations,” Waltz said.
“He has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter, and no one should know that better than the leadership of the Iranian regime,” he added.
During his address to the council, Waltz also dismissed Tehran’s allegations that the protesters were part of a “foreign plot” to undermine the current regime.
“Everyone in the world needs to know that the regime is weaker than ever before, and therefore is putting forward this lie because of the power of the Iranian people in the streets,” Waltz said.
“They are afraid of their own people,” he said of Tehran.
Along with Waltz, Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad warned the UN that the Islamic Republic cannot be dealt with normally, likening Tehran to the Islamic State terrorist group.
Alinejad demanded that Tehran’s leader be “treated like” ISIS or else the killings in Iran will get worse.
“Millions of innocent, unarmed Iranians have been silenced through bullets, mass arrests, imprisonment and a total communications blackout — no internet, no mobile phones and no landlines,” she said in an emotional speech. “Iran is in total darkness.”
Here is the latest on the civil unrest in Iran:
- Trump says Iran has stopped killing protesters: ‘There’s no plan for executions’
- Iran issues sickening assassination threat against Trump: ‘This time it will not miss the target’
- US pulls some troops from Middle East bases, sends guided missile destroyer to Persian Gulf
- Doctors in Iran collapsing from exhaustion as protesters wounded, killed by regime pile up: ‘Rivers of blood’
Gholam Hossein Darzi, the deputy Iranian ambassador to the UN, fired back and slammed America’s support of the protesters as an excuse to conduct a regime change through military tactics.
“Under the hollow pretext of concern for the Iranian people and claims of support for human rights, the United States is attempting to portray itself as a friend of the Iranian people — while simultaneously laying the groundwork for political destabilization and military intervention under a so-called ‘humanitarian’ narrative,” Darzi claimed.
The ambassador added that Tehran is seeking “neither escalation nor confrontation.”
Russia, a member of the Security Council, also accused the US of “blatant aggression and interference,” saying the current situation was a result of America’s own “escalatory actions.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the situation in Iran has become increasingly volatile, urging nations to exercise “maximum restraint at this sensitive moment.”
“[The UN] calls on all actors to refrain from any actions that could lead to further loss of life or ignite a wider regional escalation,” Guterres said.
