Nikki Haley Sends UN Direct Message On Iran Protests
U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley expressed solidarity on Tuesday with the Iranian protesters, adding the notion that the U.S. is behind the uprising is “nonsense.”
“The people of Iran are crying out for freedom,” Haley said from the U.N. in New York.
She continued: “We must not be silent. The people are crying out for freedom. All freedom loving people must stand with their cause. The international community made the mistake of failing to do that in 2009. We must not make that mistake again.”
The ambassador called the notion advanced by the Iranian regime that the U.S. is behind the protests “complete nonsense,” stating, “the demonstrations are completely spontaneous.”
“They are virtually in every city in Iran,” Haley added. “This is the precise picture of a long-oppressed people rising up against their dictators.”
“The international community has a role to play on this. The freedoms enshrined in the United Nations charter are under attack in Iran.”
Haley also commended the Iranian people for their “great bravery” in light of the Iranian regime’s long history of cracking down harshly on dissenters.
USA Today reported that at least 21 people have died and 450 have been arrested in the protests, which began on Thursday.
“The unrest started over economic issues, such as rising prices and high unemployment, but widened to a general anger over alleged government corruption and discontent with Iran’s clerical rulers,” according to the paper.
Haley announced that in the days ahead the U.S. will be calling for an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council in New York and of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Over the weekend, the ambassador retweeted a portion of President Trump’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly last September, during which he predicted the day would come for the people of Iran to make a choice regarding their future.”
“Oppressive regimes cannot endure forever, and the day will come when the Iranian people will face a choice. The world is watching!” Trump said.
Trump tweeted on Tuesday that “the people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime.”
“All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their ‘pockets,'” he added. “The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!”
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