Speaking at a military base in Washington D.C. Thursday, Nikki Haley, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, presented what she claimed was “indisputable” evidence that Iran had violated a U.N. resolution against it. According to Politico, many pundits suspect this may by the Trump administration’s first step in setting the stage for the U.S. to pull out of the nuclear deal its predecessor signed with Iran.
“The nuclear deal has done nothing to moderate the regime’s conduct in other areas. Aid from Iran’s revolutionary guard to dangerous militias and terror groups is increasing,” Haley said at a press conference at Joint Base Andrews, where reporters were invited to inspect the evidence on display behind her. “Its ballistic missile and advanced weapons are turning up in war zones across the region. It’s hard to find a conflict or a terrorist group in the Middle East that does not have Iran’s fingerprints all over it.”
Haley stood before a rocket she claimed was supplied by Iran to Houthi rebels in Yemen, who then fired it at an airport in Saudi Arabia. Her evidence also included an anti-tank missile and something called a “kamikaze drone,” all of which allegedly have parts from Iran. While the evidence wouldn’t be a violation of the nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran, Haley said it did violate a U.N. Security Council resolution banning Iran from making weapons transfers.
“We have said everything doesn’t have to be tied to the nuclear deal, but it does have to be tied to the security council resolutions. This is blatant violation of what they are not supposed to be doing,” Haley said. “Everybody has tip-toed around Iran in fear of them getting out of the nuclear deal, and they are allowing missiles like this to be fired over to innocent civilians.”
In an unprecedented step, the U.S. declassified the information and invited every member of Congress to examine the evidence.
(Via Politico)