Leader's Top Aide: US Disgraced by UN Vote on Jerusalem

Rasa - Iranian Supreme Leader's top aide for international affairs Ali Akbar Velayati underlined that the vote in the United Nations General Assembly on the draft resolution on Jerusalem was a new disgrace and failure for the US.

News ID: 435494

Date: 25 December 2017 - 22:09

RNA - "Despite threats and bribes, Trump did something that only a small number of small and unknown countries whose number was lower than the fingers of two hands opposed the UN resolution," Velayati was quoted as saying by the Iranian media on Monday.

"The little prestige that the US had was lost after the names of countries which opposed the UN resolution was announced and a new disrepute was created for the Americans," he added.

US President Donald Trump announced early December that Washington would be recognizing Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital, stressing that the United States would relocate the embassy in the occupied lands from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds.

The move was hailed by Israel but condemned by the rest of the international community as one which undermines the peace talks.

Washington’s al-Quds move has raised a chorus of outcry across the international community. The Muslim world, the UN, world leaders from Europe to the Middle East to Australia, and even US allies in the West have criticized the bid, saying it would plunge the already tumultuous region into new upheaval.

Heavy clashes also broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters after Washington's decision in Jerusalem al-Qud's Old City, Hebron (al-Khalil), Bethlehem and Nablus in the West Bank as well as the besieged Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces have killed 14 Palestinians, injured thousands of others and detained over 500 people since US President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, which has sparked bloody clashes across the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip in recent weeks.

People in different countries have also hit the streets to denounce Trump's recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in a statement issued following an extraordinary summit in Turkey's Istanbul, declared East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine "under occupation" and urged the US to withdraw from the peace process and back down from its Jerusalem decision.

Last Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution condemning US President Donald Trump’s decision and called on states not to move their diplomatic missions to the sacred city. The UNGA vote followed the US veto of a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution last Monday. All other UNSC members voted in favor of a motion to rescind Donald Trump’s move.

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