IRAN/NIKKI HALEY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UN: “The Trump administration tried to mount a case on Thursday [12-14-17] that Iran violated an international agreement to limit its arms dealing, but American officials failed to show how an array of weaponry presented as evidence proved the charges.
Nikki R. Haley, the American ambassador to the United Nations, accused Iran of providing weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen who toppled the government in Sana, throwing the country into chaos and setting off a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
At a military base in Washington, Ms. Haley stood in front of pieces of what defense officials said were Iranian-made Qiam missiles, including one that was fired by Houthi militants at an airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials have called that attack an ‘act of war’ by Iran…
Ms. Haley said that the weapons on display were declassified by the Pentagon so that the Trump administration could rally other countries to crack down on Iran. Without saying exactly what the administration is seeking, she vowed that ‘you will see us build a coalition to really push back against Iran and what they’re doing.’
Her accusations were the latest step by the Trump administration’s effort to punish Iran for its ballistic missile program and destabilizing actions throughout the Middle East.”
-John Ismay and Helene Cooper, “U.S. Accuses Iran of U.N. Violation, but Evidence Falls Short,” The New York Times online, Dec. 14, 2017