UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Donald Trump and Hassan Rouhani set for clash

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said trust in the rules-based global order and among states was “at a breaking point” and international cooperation becoming more difficult, without specifically mentioning Trump.

The world’s largest diplomatic gathering began with a stark warning of growing chaos and confusion on Tuesday ahead of a showdown between US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart on the floor of the United Nations.

On the opening day of the General Assembly debate, Trump and Hassan Rouhani are to take their turns at the podium four months after the US president ditched the Iran nuclear deal.

The five remaining parties to the agreement — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — announced Monday plans to keep business ties alive with Iran, staring down Washington’s move to impose sanctions

Eyeing his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump will also likely tout his diplomacy with Pyongyang as a win, even if the North has taken little concrete action to dismantle its missile and nuclear programs.

Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in May, to the dismay of European allies, Russia and China which had invested years in negotiations to achieve a milestone agreement on keeping Iran’s nuclear ambitions in check.

In his address, the Iranian president will stress that Iran continues to stick to the 2015 deal and portray the United States as a pariah for breaking its international commitments.

Since Trump came to power, promising that the world’s most powerful country would follow an unashamedly “America First” foreign policy, there have been growing fears about the US commitment to multilateral institutions such as the United Nations.

In a speech at the opening of the assembly, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said trust in the rules-based global order and among states was “at a breaking point” and international cooperation becoming more difficult, without specifically mentioning Trump.

“Today, world order is increasingly chaotic. Power relations are less clear,” he told the 193-nation assembly.

“Universal values are being eroded. Democratic principles are under siege,” he added just minutes before Trump was to take the podium.

Even though they will be speaking from the same stage, both Trump and Rouhani have ruled out a meeting on the sidelines of the assembly.

In a tweet on Tuesday morning, Trump said he had no plans to meet Rouhani “despite requests” to do so.

“Maybe someday in the future. I am sure he is an absolutely lovely man!” he said.

Trump used his UN address last year to bash the nuclear deal as “an embarrassment,” signaling that the United States was ready to walk away.

After its exit, the United States maintains that it is seeking to ramp up pressure on Iran which it accuses of sowing chaos in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon.

“As I have said repeatedly, regime change in Iran is not the administration’s policy,” Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton told reporters.

“We’ve imposed very stringent sanctions on Iran, more are coming, and what we expect from Iran is massive changes in their behaviour,” he said.

AFP