Sputnik News- A representative of the US mission to the UN has stated that Washington will continue telling the world about Iran's actions until Tehran halts its activities. Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said that the US and its partners will take actions on their own if Russia is going to continue to cover for Iran.




The news comes as�Russia vetoed a UK-drafted resolution on�Yemen�during�a UN Security Council vote. After the Council failed to�pass the resolution, Russia proposed its own draft which was subsequently and unequivocally adopted by�the UNSC.

Sputnik discussed this with�Dr. Hooshang Amirahmadi, founder and president of�the American-Iranian Council and a professor of�public policy at�Rutgers University.

Sputnik: Despite there being no hard evidence of�Iran's sponsorship of�the Houthi rebels, US allegations against�Tehran have intensified, why is that?

Hooshang Amirahmadi: The Trump administration is not happy with�the JCPOA, it's also, obviously, unhappy with�the fact that some of�the public has not been forthcoming on�the demand by�America on�renegotiating the nuclear deal. I think they are trying to�find every possible pretext to�hold Iran responsible for�the kind of�things that are first of�all, not, part of�the JCPOA, also they really remotely related to�Iran. I think Russia did a good job by�proposing an alternative to�the UK proposal, and, obviously, the international community accepted the resolution proposed by�Russia, and I think it's the right direction. So, I think, all of�this shows that the Trump administration has decided to�give Iran a hard time. The Trump administration's policy is regime change, and all of�these other issues in�Yemen, Syria, the nuclear issue, all of�them are really part of�a broader strategy to�isolate and, from�their perspective, to�hopefully, push Iran into�a position where it could not survive.

Sputnik: The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for�political affairs, has dubbed the US claims of�Iran's alleged supply of�missiles to�Yemen to�be biased, do you agree with�that statement?

Hooshang Amirahmadi: The fact that the�Houthis in�Yemen�have some affinity with�Iran and that Iran likes that group is a fact. I don't believe what the US is saying in�terms of�hard evidence of�Iran's supplying missiles to�Houthis and, particularly, ballistic missiles. I can expect Iran or believe Iran giving some help to�the Houthis, but�giving them ballistic missiles, that they can use to�hit Saudi Arabia is beyond�my belief and my imagination, I don't think Iran is so stupid not to�realize that a missile that they give to�Houthis, and if they were to�be launched at�a Saudi target, they could find the origin of�this particular missile. So I don't believe they've done it, but�again there are other problems in�the region, it is possible that the Houthis may have access to�some Iranian missiles that are in�the region in�the hands of�other forces, that Iran most likely has no control over.

Sputnik: Is it likely this development will have an impact on�the Iranian nuclear deal? It looks on�the face of�it that it is going to�have, isn't it?

Hooshang Amirahmadi: The Trump administration is trying to�force Iraninto�renegotiating the nuclear deal, the Europeans have �come up�with a so-called supplement for�that, that will not touch the original JCPOA but�it will add to�it an amendment, a supplement that would supposedly extend the concept clause of�the agreement to�infinity, that would impose on�Iran new restrictions to�Iran's military, that would bring Iran's missiles under�the so-called international control and observation, this is all bad news for�Iran, bad news for�the JCPOA, and after�all Iran does not have any benefits from�the JCPOA at�all, and adding more to�Iran's obligations is just meaningless, Iran has no benefits from�obligations, and I'm surprised Iran has not left the JCPOA, Iran should have already left the JCPOA given what the US is doing.

Sputnik: Do Iran's developments in�the region actually pose a threat to�the US or to�anybody else in�the Middle East, what's your view on�that?

Hooshang Amirahmadi: I believe that Iran is in�the region in�a defensive position, Iran is not in�an offensive position, from�day one when the Iranian Revolution happened back in�1979, Iran has been under�constant threat. War with�Iraq, then sanctions from�the US, the threat from�the Israeli's and now the Saudis, and now all the stuff that is going on�in the region. Iran has tried to�create what they call a regional wall around�itself, beyond�its region, in�Syria, in�Iraq and elsewhere, because they have been under�threat of�all kinds of�problems, invasion, sanctions and so on, so I think Iran has taken a defensive position in�the region.

The views and opinions expressed by�Hooshang Amirahmadi�do not necessarily reflect those of�Sputnik.