West turns up heat on Iran and Syria at UN
UNITED NATIONS: Western and Arab leaders ramped up the pressure on
Syria and Iran at the United Nations, as US President Barack Obama vowed
to keep Tehran from getting its hands on nuclear weapons.
The United States, France and Qatar led the charge Tuesday as the
West and its allies attempted to use the UN General Assembly to win
support for tougher international action against the Middle East’s twin
pariah regimes.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon set the tone, condemning the
bloodshed in Syria, where the beleaguered regime is battling an armed
revolt and subjecting its citizens to what the UN peace envoy dubbed
“medieval forms of torture.” Under pressure from his domestic rivals to
take a tough stance, Obama said President Bashar al-Assad’s regime “must
come to an end so the suffering of the Syrian people can stop, and a new
dawn can begin.” The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, a
key supporter of the Syrian opposition, called for Arab military
intervention.
“It is better for Arab countries themselves to intervene out of their
humanitarian, political and military duties and do what is necessary to
stop the bloodshed,” he told the General Assembly. A US State Department
official told AFP that the United States will soon announce an increase
in its aid to the Syrian rebels, but would still stop short of sending
weapons and ammunition.
And French President Francois Hollande urged the United Nations to
declare protected areas in “liberated zones” under opposition control in
Syria so that humanitarian aid could reach refugees.
Obama was also unequivocal on Iran, which is locked in a standoff
with the West over a nuclear program that Washington alleges is designed
to produce a weapon that could tip the balance of power in an already
volatile region.
AFP
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