Kelly Craft Says Iran is World No. 1 Sponsor of Terrorism

US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft speaks to reporters after attending her first UN Security Council meeting at UN headquarters in New York, US September 12, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar
US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft speaks to reporters after attending her first UN Security Council meeting at UN headquarters in New York, US September 12, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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Kelly Craft Says Iran is World No. 1 Sponsor of Terrorism

US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft speaks to reporters after attending her first UN Security Council meeting at UN headquarters in New York, US September 12, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar
US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft speaks to reporters after attending her first UN Security Council meeting at UN headquarters in New York, US September 12, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar

The US ambassador to the United Nations called Iran “the world’s number one sponsor of terrorism” on Thursday and warned Russia and China that they will become “co-sponsors” if they block a resolution to extend the UN arms embargo on Iran.

Ambassador Kelly Craft said the United States hopes Russia and China “will not be co-sponsors of the number one state that sponsors terrorism” and “will see the importance of peace in the Middle East.”

But she was quoted as saying by The Associated Press that the partnership between Russia and China, not only on backing Iran, is very clear. “They’re just going to be promoting chaos, conflict and mayhem outside their borders, so we have to just corner them.”

Craft and Brian Hook, the top US envoy for Iran, briefed a group of reporters following Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement Wednesday that the United States will call for a Security Council vote next week on a US-drafted resolution to extend indefinitely the arms embargo that is due to expire Oct. 18. Hook announced hours later he is stepping down from the post.

The foreign ministers of Russia and China in separate letters to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council last month were sharply critical of the US effort, and gave every indication they would veto the resolution if it gets the minimum nine “yes” votes in the 15-member council, which appears unlikely.

If the vote fails, Pompeo suggested the US would invoke the “snapback” mechanism that would restore all UN sanctions on Iran.

Snapback was envisioned in the 2015 nuclear deal in the event Iran was proven to be in violation of the accord, under which it received billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the Trump administration of unleashing a politically motivated campaign against Iran and called for “universal condemnation” of the US attempt to impose a permanent arms embargo on Iran.

He said President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers and now has no legal right to try to use the UN resolution endorsing the deal to indefinitely continue the embargo.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the arms embargo should be lifted Oct. 18. He also referred to the “snapback” provision, saying that since the US is no longer a party to the nuclear deal it “has no right to demand the Security Council to activate the rapid reinstatement of sanctions mechanism.”

The vote on the US-drafted resolution, which could come as early as Monday, and its expected defeat will set the stage for a potential crisis at the Security Council amid rising tensions in the Middle East and the US determination to maintain the UN arms embargo.

The five remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal — Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — are determined to maintain it, and are very concerned that extending the arms embargo would lead to Iran’s exit from the agreement and its speeded-up pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Hook, the US envoy, said Iran has not been cooperating with the UN nuclear agency for a year and “there isn’t some acceptable level of non-compliance that we will accept out of fear that they’ll do something worse.”

“That is by definition nuclear blackmail,” he said. “We just don’t follow that playbook.”

Hook said Iran has been able to move a lot of weapons “in the dark" to proxies in the Middle East despite the arms embargo so “imagine what they will be able to accomplish in broad daylight.”



Public Mourns 35 Killed in Attack at Sports Complex in Southern Chinese City

 A man offers flowers outside the "Zhuhai People's Fitness Plaza" where a man rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP)
A man offers flowers outside the "Zhuhai People's Fitness Plaza" where a man rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP)
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Public Mourns 35 Killed in Attack at Sports Complex in Southern Chinese City

 A man offers flowers outside the "Zhuhai People's Fitness Plaza" where a man rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP)
A man offers flowers outside the "Zhuhai People's Fitness Plaza" where a man rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP)

Members of the public paid their respects Wednesday to people killed by a driver who rammed into people exercising a sports complex in southern China, as the country mourned, but little information was available about the suspect or the victims in the attack.

The crash Monday night in Zhuhai killed 35 people and severely injured 43 others, and the driver was detained as he was trying to escape. Authorities said the 62-year-old man with the surname Fan was upset over his divorce settlement.

Members of the public had started bringing flowers in honor of the victims Tuesday night and continued into Wednesday.

There was a light police presence in the morning at the Zhuhai sports complex, which was closed until further notice, but the number of officers increased as the morning passed.

While police allowed people to leave bouquets of flowers in memory of the dead just outside the entrance of the sports complex, volunteers then quickly moved the flowers inside to the sports center.

“May there be no thugs in heaven,” said the message on one bouquet. “Good deeds will be rewarded and evil deeds will be punished.”

The attack occurred on the eve of the Zhuhai Airshow, an aviation exhibition sponsored by the People's Liberation Army that is held every two years.

China authorities often make extra efforts to tightly control information around major or sensitive events like the airshow. Censors also take extra care around major catastrophes or violence, often censoring eyewitness accounts. Clear information on the death and injury toll was not available for almost 24 hours after the attack.

Videos were quickly censored inside China, though they circulated outside the Great Firewall. They were posted by Teacher Li, an artist turned dissident who runs a X account with 1.7 million followers that posts crowdsourced videos about news in China.

Articles from Chinese media featuring interviews with survivors were quickly taken down Monday and Tuesday. The news that trended about the attack was largely based on official statements from authorities.

Police said their preliminary investigation found Fan was dissatisfied with the split of financial assets in his divorce. Beyond that description, further information was not available on his divorce or alleged motive.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the “strict” punishment of the perpetrator according to law, in a statement Tuesday evening.

He also called on all local governments “to strengthen prevention and control of risks at the source, strictly prevent extreme cases from occurring, and to resolve conflicts and disputes in a timely manner,” according to the official Xinhua news agency.