US envoy slips up at UNSC, blames Israel for ‘chaos, terror' in Middle East
Amid the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran, a US envoy at a UN Security Council meeting on Friday fumbled and accidentally blamed Jerusalem for causing "chaos, terror and suffering" in the Middle East before correcting herself. US UN envoy Dorothy Shea affirmed support to Israel and said America stands with "Israel and supports its actions against Iran's nuclear ambitions".(AP)
The US Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to the UN, Dorothy Shea, was delivering a speech at the UNSC, condemning Iran's actions against Israel. Follow Iran Israel war live updates
"Israel's government has also spread chaos, terror and suffering throughout the region," Shea reads out. She then takes an awkward pause, shakes her head as she quickly corrects herself and repeats the sentence, "Iran's government has also spread chaos, terror and suffering throughout the region."
She continues with her speech, 'Let us not forget that the Iranian government was an enabling and ideological material force behind Hamas's deadly assault on Israel.'
This slip-up by the top US diplomat on a platform as big as the United Nations Security Council went viral on social media. 'Let there be no doubt…': US affirms support to Israel
In her speech, Shea also emphasised that it is not too late for the Iranian government "to do the right thing". She reiterated US President Donald Trump's statements and said that Iran "must completely abandon its nuclear enrichment program and all aspirations of acquiring a nuclear weapon".
Dorothy Shea stated that Israel has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction as well as for "death to America".
Further condemning Iran, she said that, as the Group of Seven (G7) leaders stated earlier this week, Tehran is the principal source of instability and terror in the Middle East region.
While she reaffirmed that the US was not involved in the Israeli strikes against Iran, the American diplomat clarified, "Let there be no doubt that the United States continues to stand with Israel and supports its actions against Iran's nuclear ambitions." ALSO READ | Donald Trump hints at Israel-Iran ceasefire, warns Iran has 'maximum' two weeks
The US diplomat stated that Iran's leadership could have avoided the ongoing conflict had they agreed to a deal that would have kept them from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.
By refusing to accept the deal, Shea said, Iran has all it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon, adding that the only remaining thing it needs is a decision from its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The US diplomat pressed that the UNSC must urge Iran to change course, that the Tehran government has nothing to gain by escalating its rhetoric in this conflict.
Meanwhile, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday said that it would be "very, very dangerous for everyone" if the United States becomes actively involved in the war with Israel. Trump's deadline to Iran
Earlier in the day, Trump also doubted the possibilities of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, saying that it would be "very hard to stop" Israeli strikes on Iran in order to negotiate a truce.
"Israel's doing well in terms of war. And, I think, you would say that Iran is doing less well. It's a little bit hard to get somebody to stop," the US President said.
Trump's statement came after the White House said that the US President saw a "substantial chance of negotiations" amid the conflict, as it said Washington was seeking additional time to decide if its military needs to step in.
Donald Trump also warned Iran against US military action and said that "I'm giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum."
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