U.S. President Donald Trump’s accused the leadership in Tehran of plundering its people to pay for aggression across the world. In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly annual summit, Trump argued that “Iran’s leaders sow chaos, death and destruction. They do not respect their neighbors or borders or the sovereign rights of nations. Instead, Iran’s leaders plunder the nation’s resources to enrich themselves and to spread mayhem across the Middle East and far beyond.” With regard to the Islamic Republic’s atomic aspirations and Washington’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 multilateral deal that aimed to limit Tehran’s nuclear program, President Trump stressed that the United States “cannot allow the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism to possess the planet’s most dangerous weapons. We cannot allow our regime that chants death to America. And that threatens Israel with annihilation. To possess the means to deliver a nuclear warhead. To any city on earth. Just can’t do it. We ask all nations to isolate Iran’s regime as long as its aggression continues, and we ask all nations to support Iran’s people as they struggled to reclaim their religious and righteous destiny.” President Trump also mentioned his aspiration to achieve a peace agreement, to end the decades old conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. According to Trump, “The United States is committed to a future of peace and stability in the region, including peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. That aim is advanced, not harmed by acknowledging the obvious facts. America’s policy of principled realism means we will not be held hostage to all dogmas, discredited ideologies and so-called experts who have been proven wrong over the years, time and time again. This is true not only in matters of peace, but in matters of prosperity. We believe that trade must be fair and reciprocal.” Many of the world leaders who spoke after President Trump voiced their contempt over the American course of action vis-à-vis the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Among those leaders was French president Emmanuel Macron, who remarked that “What can resolve the crisis between Israel and Palestine? Surely not unilateral initiatives, nor trampling on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to legitimate peace, nor underestimating the legitimate right of Israelis to their security. There is no credible alternative to the two-states living side by side in peace and security, with Jerusalem as (their) capital.” The comments by the French leader came after he held a meeting with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, earlier this week. During their meeting, the Palestinian leader urged his French counterpart to push forward a peace initiative that will counter the anticipated plan of the Trump Administration.
