Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in New York on Sept. 22 and addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 26. President Barack Obama and other U.S. and world leaders condemned Iran’s positions on Syria, Israel and its nuclear program both before and after Ahmadinejad’s address.
The following are excerpts from statements by U.S. and world leaders from the past week:
President Barack Obama’s remarks to the U.N. General Assembly, Sept. 25
“In Iran, we see where the path of a violent and unaccountable ideology leads. The Iranian people have a remarkable and ancient history, and many Iranians wish to enjoy peace and prosperity alongside their neighbors. But just as it restricts the rights of its own people, the Iranian government continues to prop up a dictator in Damascus and supports terrorist groups abroad. Time and again, it has failed to take the opportunity to demonstrate that its nuclear program is peaceful, and to meet its obligations to the United Nations.
So let me be clear. America wants to resolve this issue through diplomacy, and we believe that there is still time and space to do so. But that time is not unlimited. We respect the right of nations to access peaceful nuclear power, but one of the purposes of the United Nations is to see that we harness that power for peace. And make no mistake, a nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained. It would threaten the elimination of Israel, the security of Gulf nations, and the stability of the global economy. It risks triggering a nuclear-arms race in the region, and the unraveling of the non-proliferation treaty. That’s why a coalition of countries is holding the Iranian government accountable. And that’s why the United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the U.N. Security Council, Sept. 26
“No discussion of the Middle East would be complete without a mention of Iran and the profound threat its activities pose to the region and beyond. Despite numerous demands by this Council, Iran still has not taken the necessary steps to cooperate fully with the IAEA and to resolve doubts about its nuclear program. In addition, Iran continues to sponsor terrorist groups and smuggle weapons for the Assad regime’s use against the Syrian people. Meanwhile, the Iranian people themselves suffer gross violation of their rights at the hand of their own government.”
U.S. Mission to the United Nations statement, Sept. 26
“Over the past couple of days, we’ve seen Mr. Ahmadinejad once again use his trip to the U.N. not to address the legitimate aspirations of the Iranian people but to instead spout paranoid theories and repulsive slurs against Israel. It’s particularly unfortunate that Mr. Ahmadinejad will have the platform of the U.N. General Assembly on Yom Kippur, which is why the United States has decided not to attend.”
U.N Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s remarks to the U.N. General Assembly, Sept. 25
“Iran must prove the solely peaceful intent of its program.”
Office of U.N.Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Sept. 24
“The secretary-general drew [President Ahmadinejad’s] attention to the potentially harmful consequences of inflammatory rhetoric, counter-rhetoric and threats from various countries in the Middle East.”
French President Francois Hollande’s remarks to the U.N. General Assembly, Sept. 25
“For years now, Iran has been ignoring the international community’s demands, has avoided IAEA inspections, and has not kept her word or complied with the Security Council resolutions. I myself hoped that negotiation could really take place and that targets would be set. Once again this negotiation did not succeed. France does not accept this violation, which is a threat to regional security and, as we know, a threat to global peace. So I want to say here again that we’re ready to impose new sanctions – not to punish the great people of Iran but to say to their leaders that they must resume the negotiations before it’s too late.”
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle to the press at the U.N. General Assembly, Sept. 25
“Iran has not taken advantage of the talks in the past months to negotiate substantially…A nuclear armed Iran is unacceptable.”
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney to the media on Sept. 24
“President Ahmadinejad says foolish, offensive and sometimes unintelligible things with great regularity. What he should focus on is the failure of his government of Iran to abide by its international obligations, to abide by United Nations Security Council resolutions.”