Hours before U.S. President Donald Trump dispatched B-2 stealth bombers to take out Iranian nuclear sites, the Pakistani government nominated him for a Nobel Prize. Pakistan subsequently condemned the attack on Iran.
On Tuesday, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) stated that he recommended Trump for a Nobel “in recognition of his historic role in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Iran and preventing the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism from obtaining the most lethal weapon on the planet.”
Ahead of a United Nations Security Council meeting, Danny Danon, the Israeli envoy to the global body, said that Trump deserved a Nobel and that Iran would win the prize if there were a category for deceit.
“President Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. I think we should thank him for his leadership, for the brave decision he took and to recognize the effort of the United States,” Danon said ahead of the council meeting.
In the chamber, Danon told the council, which was holding its biannual briefing on the implementation of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the Iran nuclear accord, that “if there were a Nobel Prize for deception, the Iranian regime would win it every single year.”
“It has broken every commitment it has ever made,” Danon told the council. “There is no reason to believe this deception will not continue.”
Security Council Resolution 2231 endorsed the JCPOA, which is why it falls under the council’s purview. The council’s five permanent members—the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China—are signatories, as is Germany.
Washington withdrew from the pact in 2018 under Trump, but other parties to the agreement retain the option to note Iranian violations and to initiate snapback sanctions on Iran through the council, which are provided for in the JCPOA.
Danon accused the international community of only voicing concern about Iran’s growing uranium enrichment, requiring Israel to take action during the 12-day “Operation Rising Lion,” which targeted Iran’s nuclear and military assets.
Tuesday’s meeting was prescheduled and wasn’t a response to the preemptive attacks on Iran or the ceasefire.
“While the diplomats and politicians talked, Iran built. While you negotiated, they enriched. While you hoped, they lied,” Danon told the council. “Today, the regime in Tehran stands completely exposed as a regime that has weaponized every opportunity you gave it.”
“Iran did not abandon its commitments last week, or last month,” he said. “It walked away from its obligations years ago, if it ever kept to them at all.”
‘Inherent right of self-defense’
Dorothy Shea, the interim U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, responded to claims from other council members that Washington struck Iran’s nuclear facilities illegally.
“We did not take this action lightly, and we are confident that it is consistent with the inherent right of self-defense under the U.N. Charter,” Shea said. “Nothing in the International Atomic Energy Agency statute prevents states from taking legitimate steps for their own or collective self-defense.”
The board of governors of the IAEA, the U.N.’s watchdog on nuclear issues, recently cited Iran for non-compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, with a recent IAEA report stating that the Islamic Republic continues enriching uranium well above levels needed for a peaceful, civilian program.
It also said that Iran has repeatedly refused to explain why traces of uranium have been found at undeclared sites.
China, which reportedly convinced Tehran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open following the U.S. attack, backed the Islamic Republic.
“Up until today, Iran continues to fulfill its nuclear non-proliferation obligations and implement the comprehensive safeguards agreement,” Fu Cong, China’s U.N. ambassador, told the council. “Iran has repeatedly stated that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons.”
“It conducted several rounds of professional and pragmatic negotiations with the United States in a constructed manner and never abandoned its diplomatic efforts,” Fu said.
The envoy asked “relevant countries” to stop using the threat of snapback sanctions, which he said “will only aggravate tensions and confrontations and even further jeopardize diplomatic efforts.”
Jérôme Bonnafont, the French U.N. ambassador, threatened snapback sanctions at Tuesday’s meeting.
France, the United Kingdom and Germany are prepared to trigger such sanctions “if such an agreement were not to be found by the summer” on a resolution to disagreements between the IAEA and Iran on access for inspectors at Iran’s nuclear facilities, the French envoy said.
Bonnafont called on Tehran to return to talks on “a robust, verifiable and lasting diplomatic solution.”
Russia, another ally of the Iranian regime, claimed that the United States and Israel violated the U.N. and IAEA charters and Security Council resolutions.
“This was a major blow to the non-proliferation regime, and all of these actions were carried out by two states, one of which the depositary of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, while the other for decades has refused to accede to this crucial element of international security and has refused to subject its nuclear activities to IAEA safeguards,” Vassily Nebenzia, Moscow’s U.N. envoy, told the council. (Israel did not sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty.)
Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s U.N. ambassador, claimed at the council meeting that the attacks on its nuclear program by the United States “failed more clearly than ever.”
“Iran emerged proud and steadfast in the face of this criminal aggression,” he said. “This proves one simple truth more clearly than ever: diplomacy and dialogue are the only path to resolving the unnecessary crisis over Iran’s peaceful program.”
The envoy thanked Qatar for helping establish a U.S.-brokered Israel-Iran ceasefire. But Qatar’s U.N. ambassador signaled her displeasure with Iran for targeting the Al Udeid Air Base, which Qatar and the United States share, in a missile strike on Monday.
Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani wrote that she “strongly condemns” Iran’s attack, which Qatar deems “a highly dangerous escalation that constitutes a blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the country.
Qatar has friendly ties with Iran, and it is unclear whether Doha’s anger is genuine or performative, given the country’s close relationship with the United States as well.
Kuwait’s U.N. mission also sent to the Security Council a letter on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates expressing full support for Qatar and condemning the Iranian attack.
Iravani sent a defensive missive to the Security Council, noting that Al Udeid “lies at a significant distance from any urban or residential areas, ensuring there is no collateral damage,” and that Iran’s “defensive and lawful action poses no threat to the friendly and brotherly nation of the State of Qatar or its esteemed people.”