Trump’s UN speech, 'embarrassment' to US: Analyst

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has lashed out at US President Donald Trump for his “ignorant and spiteful” comments against the Iranian nation. During his speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump accused Iran of engaging in “destabilizing activities” in the region. He also denounced the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, including the US, as “an embarrassment” that Washington may abandon.  

Press TV has talked to Kaveh Afrasiabi, author of several books on Iran’s foreign policy including the nuclear negotiations, as well as Richard Millett, journalist and political commentator, to get their opinion on the US president’s latest remarks.

Afrasiabi believes Trumps’ speech at the United Nations was an “embarrassment” to the United States and its global credibility, adding that it was a “disservice” to the US government itself because the whole diplomatic machinery of the country was engaged in the nuclear talks not just former President Barack Obama.  

“So Trump is undermining the US’s entire diplomatic apparatuses and not just a single past leader and this is a disservice to the US government itself and sooner the people in Washington realize that the better for the US’s own sake,” he said.

The analyst went on to say that Trump is pursuing a “self-defeating strategy,” emphasizing that his “rogue behavior” at the UN diminished the prestige of the United States worldwide.  

PressTV-Rouhani censures Trump’s anti-Iran rhetoric

The Iranian president delivers his speech at the annual session of the UN General Assembly.

Afrasiabi further underlined the importance of Iran’s role in the sixth round of Syria peace talks in the Kazakh capital city of Astana, arguing that demonizing the Islamic Republic and accusing it of conducting destabilizing activities in the Middle East is turning a blind eye to reality.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the analyst maintained that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his luster since the signing of the Iran nuclear deal.  

Therefore, he said, Netanyahu is trying to create a “manufactured nuclear crisis” vis-à-vis Iran in order to force himself back on the world stage.  

Afrasiabi also highlighted the fact that Israel is making a hoopla about Iran’s peaceful nuclear program while the regime itself has stubbornly refused to adhere to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) despite calls from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as well as the UN itself to do so.  

He also reiterated that Iran is a signatory to the NPT and is pursuing a peaceful nuclear program compared to Israel which has a policy of “absolute clandestine nuclear activities” which threatens all of its neighbors in the region.

The analyst further expressed doubt that Trump will walk away from the nuclear deal, predicting that if he decides to do so, “he will face a severe internal crisis with his own cabinet and even some members of the US Congress.”

Meanwhile, Richard Millett, the other panelist on the program, said that Trump’s concern about the nuclear agreement is that it is a “sunset deal,” arguing that the Islamic Republic might wish to pursue a nuclear bomb after that time.

PressTV-Trump: Iran nuclear deal an 'embarrassment' to US

In his first address to the United Nations, President Trump calls the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran an "embarrassment."

He also noted that Trump’s argument is that the Iranian people have gained nothing from the nuclear deal, adding that only Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement and the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas have benefited from it.

“So this is an embarrassing deal [because] not only is there a possibility of a nuclear bomb to be progressed at some stage in the future, the spirit of the deal has been broken because of the funding by Iran of Hezbollah and the destruction that this has caused in Lebanon, in Syria, in Yemen, in Bahrain and obviously the financing of Hamas,” he said.

He concluded by saying that Trump may put sanctions back into place after the October 15 deadline when he will announce his decision with regard to the Iran nuclear deal.  

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