Trump embarrassed as world leaders laughed on his “achievement” claims
The UN headquarters in New York witnessed US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani clashing sharply on Tuesday, when Trump urged international community to isolate Tehran from global trade while Rouhani called US sanctions “economic terrorism”.
According to reports coming in all speculations of a possible bilateral meeting between the two leaders at the world body devolved into a war of words over Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal and to re-impose economic sanctions on Iran.
While addressing the UN General Assembly, US President Donald Trump fired the first volley, repeating his administration’s contention that Iran is the world’s “leading sponsor of terrorism”.
He went on accusing Tehran saying, “Iran’s neighbours have paid a heavy toll for the regime’s agenda of aggression and expansion,” and having “embezzled billions of dollars” from the country’s treasury to wage proxy wars.
“The dictatorship used the funds to build nuclear-capable missiles, increase internal repression, finance terrorism, and fund havoc and slaughter in Syria and Yemen,” he said.
He said, “We ask all nations to isolate Iran’s regime as long as its aggression continues.” He promised Iran would face more difficulties when the second round of sanctions targeting its energy sector will be re-imposed on November 5.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani responded back at Trump saying his decision to impose more sanctions is a form of “economic terrorism”. He also accused US administration of trying to topple his government.
Rouhani further said,”It is ironic that the US government does not even conceal its plan for overthrowing the same government it invites to talks.”
Avoiding naming Trump, he said some world leaders are undermining world security by their “recklessness and disregard of international values and institutions.”
He further said, “Confronting multilateralism is not a sign of strength, rather a symptom of the weakness of intellect. The government of the US – at least the current administration – seems determined to render all international institutions ineffectual.”
Rouhani said he was pleased that the international community did not follow the Trump administration’s “unilateral and illegal withdrawal from the JCPOA”.
In May, the US President Donald Trump had pulled out of the multilateral Iran nuclear deal signed in 2015 by five permanent UNSC members and Germany, generally known as P5+1. It was implemented in January 2016 paving the way for relaxing sanctions against Iran.
After US withdrawal from the deal, Washington re-imposed the first round of sanctions in August this year. Second round of sanctions are scheduled to be imposed on November 5, including rougher sanctions on Iran oil export.
Earlier there was speculation whether the two leaders would meet during UNGA in New York. Trump said he would be willing to meet without preconditions. But Iranians refused to meet until US rejoins the nuclear deal.
Meanwhile, the five remaining parties to JCPOA – France, Britain, Germany, China and Russia – agreed during a meeting with Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif in New York late on Monday to set up a payment system to preserve business ties with Iran despite US sanctions.
Meanwhile, in an unprecedented incident, Donald Trump faced embarrassment when world leaders laughed at him while he claimed several achievements of his government during last two years.
See video:
Trump opened his speech by declaring, “In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country.”
The audience almost immediately burst into derisive laughter, in a moment that is set to go down in history as one of the most embarrassing moment for any American leader on the global stage.
Stumped but laughing along with the crowd, Trump tried to move past it by saying, “I didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s OK.”
Amid the ongoing diplomatic tensions between Canada and India over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday shared a video of his Diwali celebration on social media platform X.
Sharing a 44-second video of his Diwali celebrations on social media, the Canadian Prime Minister wrote, “Happy Diwali! So many special moments shared celebrating with the community this week.”
This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Saturday, while addressing the media over Canada’s serious allegation against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar, said it was unfortunate that the prevailing atmosphere in Canada has reached high levels of intolerance and extremism.
In the video, Prime Minister Trudeau showed off some colorful religious threads on his wrists, explaining that he received them during visits to three Hindu temples in Canada recently. He called them symbols of “good luck” and “protection,” adding with a smile, “I’m not taking them off until they fall off”.
Trudeau was also seen interacting warmly with the community, celebrating the festival, and enjoying delicious Indian sweets like jalebis, which he jokingly said he would “save for the team.”
On November 1, Trudeau posted on X, “Happy Diwali! Today, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain families will celebrate the triumph of light over darkness with festivities, candles, diyas, and fireworks. Wishing you all joy and prosperity during this special time.”
Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Jaiswal said India condemns the recent allegations made by the Canadian government against Shah that he was purportedly involved in the killing of Nijjar and called it “absurd and baseless”.
Jaiswal also said that India had summoned the Canadian High Commissioner on Friday to protest in the strongest terms for the references made to the Union Home Minister of India before the Committee by Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison.
On Tuesday, Morrison claimed that Shah orchestrated a campaign of violence, intimidation, and intelligence-gathering aimed at Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. He informed members of Canada’s national security committee in Parliament that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which was the first to report the allegations. However, Morrison did not provide details on how Canada became aware of Shah’s alleged involvement.
In a significant development, India and China have completed the disengagement exercise in the Depsang and Demchok friction points at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The troops of both the countries are now verifying the vacation of positions and removal of infrastructure.
Reportedly, the Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks. The two sides will exchange sweets for Diwali tomorrow.
Earlier, Foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement to disengage in the remaining friction points at LAC in eastern Ladakh. After the agreement, the two countries began troops disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang plains on October 23.
India-China relations worsened because of the Chinese troops’ aggression along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border, in April 2020. It further deteriorated on June 15, 2020, after 20 Indian soldiers died in the line of duty thwarting the Chinese offensive in the Galwan Valley. New Delhi had said India’s bilateral relations with China will normalise only after the situation at the LAC returns to what it was before May 2020.
Reports said that the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have pulled back their forward-deployed troops and equipment from the two flashpoints, and have also dismantled temporary structures that had been built during the four-year-long standoff.
The Indian soldiers will resume their patrolling in areas that had been cut off because of the PLA’s presence. Nonetheless, the disengagement in Depsang and Demchok will not lead to the creation of buffer zones.
Both the countries had disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15) areas and created buffer zones. Speaking to a newspaper publication, Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), a former director general of military operations said that the disengagement at Depsang and Demchok will facilitate patrolling by both sides in a coordinated manner, and in the agreed upon frequency and strength of the patrolling parties.
The Iranian Army said on Saturday that two of its soldiers were killed in Israeli air strikes that targeted military bases.
Iran stated that its air defenses effectively countered the attack, resulting in the unfortunate deaths of two soldiers and some areas suffering limited damage.
The Israeli military conducted strikes on Iranian military sites after 2 am on Saturday, responding to what they cited as ongoing attacks by Iran and its allies in the region.
Following the strikes, the Israeli military announced they had successfully completed the mission and achieved their objectives.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the precise targeting of military sites in Iran to neutralize immediate threats to Israel.
“I can now confirm that we have concluded the Israeli response to Iran’s attacks against Israel. We conducted targeted and precise strikes on military targets in Iran — thwarting immediate threats to the State of Israel,” the Israel Defence Force posted on X.
Iran’s air defense headquarters acknowledged the hits on bases in Ilam, Khuzestan, and Tehran but asserted that these attacks were effectively repelled, with investigations ongoing to assess damages. Moreover, Iran indicated its readiness to retaliate against any Israeli aggression, stating that Israel would face proportional consequences for its actions.
Iran expressed its intentions to respond to the Israeli attacks on its military bases, condemning the actions as a violation of international law and the UN Charter’s principles on the use of force.
Emphasising Iran’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter, the Iranian Foreign Ministry highlighted its obligation to counter foreign aggression.
Pakistan strongly condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, attributing the escalation to Israel and urging the UN Security Council to intervene for peace and security.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasised that Iran should refrain from retaliating against Israel, advocating for restraint on all sides to prevent further escalation.
“I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression. I’m equally clear that we must avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to restrain. Iran should not respond,” the PM said at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The United States advised Iran to halt its attacks on Israel to cease the ongoing violence and break the cycle of conflict, underlining the importance of de-escalation.
“We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett told reporters.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the Israeli operation throughout its development and execution by his National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan.
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