TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif ridiculed US PresidentDonald Trump on Saturday over what he called the foreign policy “blunder”of trying to raise its recent protests at the UN Security Council.
The Security Council “rebuffed the US’ naked attempt to hijack itsmandate”, wrote Zarif on Twitter.
“Majority emphasised the need to fully implement the JCPOA [JointComprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal] and to refrain from interferingin internal affairs of others. Another FP [foreign policy] blunder for theTrump administration.”
The United States had pushed for the UN meeting on Friday to discuss thefive days of protests that hit Iran last week, leading to the deaths of 21people and hundreds of arrests.
US Ambassador Nikki Haley argued the unrest could escalate into full-blownconflict and drew a comparison with Syria.
“The Iranian regime is now on notice: the world will be watching what youdo,” Haley warned.
But Russia’s envoy shot back that if the US view holds, the council shouldhave also discussed the 2014 unrest in the US suburb of Ferguson, Missouriover the police shooting of a black teenager or the US crackdown on theOccupy Wall Street movement.
Britain and France reiterated that Iran must respect the rights ofprotesters, but French Ambassador Francois Delattre said the “events of thepast days do not constitute a threat to peace and international security”.
China also described the meeting as meddling in Iran’s affairs, whileEthiopia, Kuwait and Sweden expressed reservations about the discussion.
Iran’s Ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo slammed the meeting as a “farce” and a“waste of time” and said the council should instead focus on addressing theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict or the war in Yemen.
Iranian authorities have declared the unrest over, and held three days oflarge pro-government rallies across the country between Wednesday andFriday.
Iran signed a nuclear deal with the United States, Britain, France,Germany, Russia and China in 2015, easing sanctions in exchange for curbsto the country’s nuclear programme.
US President Donald Trump has fiercely opposed the deal, but the othersignatories remain firmly behind it.
Trump must decide every few months whether to continue waiving nuclearsanctions, with the next deadline due on Friday.
Analysts say there is a chance he may use the latest unrest as a pretext toreimpose sanctions.