UNITED NATIONS – President Donald Trump on Wednesday faced a rebuke of hishardline Iran policy at a UN Security Council meeting that laid bare a riftbetween the United States and other world powers.

Presiding for the first time over a meeting of the United Nations body,Trump denounced the “horrible, one-sided” nuclear deal with Iran that heditched in May, to the dismay of European allies.

A gavel-wielding Trump also took a swipe at China, accusing Beijing ofworking against his Republican Party in upcoming midterm elections aspayback for their growing trade war, a charge China s foreign minister saidwas “unwarranted.”

The United States has moved to reimpose sanctions that had been liftedunder the deal to curb Iran s nuclear program and has vowed to isolateTehran, which it accuses of stoking conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon andYemen.

France however hit back, with President Emmanuel Macron declaring thatconcerns about Iran cannot be tackled with “a policy of sanctions andcontainment.”

Also defending the 2015 deal which was endorsed in a Security Councilresolution, British Prime Minister Teresa May said it “remains the bestmeans of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.”

Trump argued that since the deal was signed in 2015, “Iran s aggressiononly increased” and that funds released from the lifting of sanctions hadbeen used “to support terrorism, build nuclear-capable missiles and fomentchaos.”

China s Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed that the “rights of all countriesto trade with Iran should be respected” after the European Union said aspecial payment system would be set up to keep alive business ties withIran.

Iran did not request to speak at the council meeting, but Iranian PresidentHassan Rouhani told a news conference separately that the United Stateswould eventually rejoin the nuclear deal and pledged Tehran s continuedcommitment to the accord.

“For the first time, the US president was asking other members not toadhere to a resolution of the very same Security Council over which he waspresiding,” quipped Rouhani.

“We are not isolated; America is isolated,” he said.

Wednesday s meeting highlighted divisions between the United States and itsEuropean allies over the Iran nuclear deal, but there was also sharpcriticism of Trump s broader foreign policy.

Leftist Bolivian President Evo Morales bluntly declared that “the UnitedStates does not care about human rights or justice.”

If that were not the case, he argued, “it would not abandon the UN humanrights council or separate migrant children from their families and putthem in jail.”

In a blunt attack on China, Trump told the council that Beijing wasattempting to interfere in the upcoming elections, hoping to see him suffera setback because of his tough line on trade.

“They do not want me or us to win because I am the first president ever tochallenge China on trade,” said Trump.

The Republicans could lose control of both the Senate and House ofRepresentatives in November s elections, further imperiling Trump s chancesof chalking up legislative achievements.

The Chinese foreign minister responded flatly that Beijing strictly adheredto a policy of non-interference.

“We did not and will not interfere in any country s domestic affairs. Werefuse to accept any unwarranted accusations against China,” said Wang.

Tensions have soared between Beijing and Washington after Trump this weekslapped new tariffs covering $200 billion in Chinese goods exported to theUnited States.

On North Korea, Trump called for sanctions to be strictly enforced againstPyongyang — a message directed at Russia and China which are pushing foran easing of punitive measures to reward North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Without naming countries, the US president noted that “some nations arealready violating UN sanctions” including illegal ship-to-ship transfers ofoil and said compliance was “very important.”

His comments came shortly before his top diplomat, US Secretary of StateMike Pompeo, signaled that he would return to North Korea next month topush forward denuclearization talks.

It was only the third time in UN history that a US president chaired aSecurity Council meeting. Barack Obama presided over two meetings in 2009and 2014. – APP/AFP