US sees Iranian missile test as unacceptable, promises response

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said Tuesday that Iran's ballistic missile test on the weekend was "absolutely unacceptable" and promised that Washington would respond to it.

"The United States is not naïve. We are not going to stand by. You will see us call them out," warned Haley after a closed-door Security Council meeting, adding that "we are committed to making them understand that this is not anything that we will ever accept."

The new US envoy to the international body said that it had been "confirmed" that Tehran on Sunday tested a ballistic missile, adding that this runs counter to Security Council Resolution 2231 approved in 2015.

"They know that they are not supposed to be doing ballistic missile testing" of anything that can carry nuclear warheads, Haley told reporters regarding the launch of a missile able to carry a payload of 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) a distance of 300 kilometers (about 186 miles).

"That is more than enough to be able to deliver a nuclear weapon," she asserted.

Haley, however, did not provide any details as to what the United States intended to do in response to the Iranian test.

Resolution 2231, whereby the Security Council ratified the nuclear pact negotiated among Iran and several world powers, calls upon Tehran not to launch missiles capable of carrying atomic warheads.

The Iranian government on Tuesday insisted that the missiles that it is testing are defensive, conventional and will not be used to carry nuclear warheads, but the US warned that those missiles are perfectly capable of being fitted with such weapons.

Russia, meanwhile, said that Resolution 2231 "does not prohibit" Iran from engaging in this kind of activity, but rather only contains a "call" for them not to do so.

"A call is different from a ban. Legally you cannot violate a call. You can comply or not, but you cannot violate it," said Russia's UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin.

Other members of the Security Council, such as the United Kingdom, referred to the rests as "not consistent" with the resolution, but avoided speaking about "violations."

According to diplomatic sources, the 15 Security Council members agreed on Tuesday that the committee tasked with monitoring the sanctions on Iran should thoroughly analyze the missile test.

Source: EFE

Syrian war tops UN Assembly Agenda

The UN General Assembly Wednesday hosted a high-level summit calling for an end to the long and bloody Syrian war and to recover the value of diplomacy, despite recent tensions between the US and Russia.

"Present in this hall today are representatives of governments that have ignored, facilitated, funded, participated in or even planned and carried out atrocities inflicted by all sides of the Syria conflict against Syrian civilians," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in front of 193 participating nations.

He has also accused the Syrian government of killing innocent civilians during the brutal Syrian war and said "powerful patrons that keep feeding the war machine also have blood on their hands."

As the half-century tradition, Brazil spoke first at the UNGA. However, when Michel Temer started to talk, some Latin American delegations decided to leave the room.

While President Michel Temer made his UNGA debut, this was the last time US President Barack Obama, who will leave office in January 2017, addressed the UN as the US president.

Like Ban, Obama said "there's no ultimate military victory to be won" in the Syria conflict, instead "the hard work of diplomacy" is needed to end the violence.

However, the US leader accused Russia of trying to recover "lost glory through force."

Obama cautioned that "if Russia continues to interfere in the affairs of its neighbors," such actions will "make its borders less secure."

French President Francois Hollande, also asked that those intervening in the Syrian war reaffirm their commitment to peace, telling the UN "enough is enough."

Theresa May, Britain's new prime minister in her first speech before the UNGA, called for international efforts to end the Syrian war.

Source: EFE

Syrian conflict: UN first air drop delivers aid to Deir al-Zour

UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien told the Security Council that the plane dropped 21 tonnes of humanitarian items on a government-held part of Deir al-Zour.

Initial reports indicated that the aid had successfully reached the target area, Mr O'Brien said.

The UN says 200,000 civilians are living under siege in Deir al-Zour.

In a recent report, the UN said those trapped in the besieged areas were facing "sharply deteriorating conditions" with reports of "severe cases of malnutrition and deaths due to starvation".

Last week, more than 100 lorries carrying food and other basic goods reached 80,000 people in five other besieged areas of Syria. Two more convoys were sent to two towns besieged by government forces on Tuesday.

"Earlier this morning, a WFP (World Food Programme) plane dropped the first cargo of 21 tonnes of items into Deir al-Zour," Mr O'Brien told the Security Council.

He said teams from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent on the ground confirmed that "pallets have landed in the target area as planned".

BBC UN correspondent Nick Bryant says the air drop is a last resort by aid agencies after warring parties blocked access to the city.

Convoys of lorries are considered the most efficient form of delivery for much-needed supplies, he says.

The World Food Programme had previously ruled out humanitarian air drops in Syria due to the complexities of obtaining use of airspace, organising distribution on the ground, and finding suitable drop zones.

The UK government also said air drops were "high risk and should only be considered as a last resort when all other means have failed".

But Jan Egeland, who chairs a humanitarian taskforce, said last week that the strategy was the only way to feed people in Deir al-Zour.

The UN estimates that more than 480,000 Syrians are living in besieged areas, with four million more people in "hard-to-reach" areas.

Last week, convoys of aid lorries reached rebel-held Muadhamiya, Madaya and Zabadani, near Damascus, and pro-government northern villages of Foah and Kefraya.
The supplies are expected to last for about a month.

All sides in the civil war are believed to have used siege warfare, in which forces surround an area and cut off essential supplies, in breach of international law.

A temporary "cessation of hostilities" is scheduled to take effect across Syria on Saturday after midnight Damascus time (22:00 GMT Friday).

It excludes IS and the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.

The Syrian government has said it will observe the partial ceasefire, but insists it will continue to fight IS, al-Nusra and "other terrorist groups linked to them".

Source: BBC