RT - US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley�s assertion that Iran is the �biggest issue� for the US today is ridiculous and Washington has much bigger foreign and domestic issues to be worried about, experts told RT.

In an interview with the Fox & Friends morning show, Haley said that Americans �do need to be worried about Iran� because the country is �constantly in the middle of trouble�.


.@NikkiHaley: �We do need to be worried about Iran...They are constantly in the middle of trouble, and they're not on our side.��@foxandfriendspic.twitter.com/H39DiId9ZN



� Fox News (@FoxNews)�September 26, 2018

But former US diplomat Jim Jatras believes any claims that Iran was the US�s biggest problem are��ridiculous��and that Iran has��no real relationship to US national interests at all�.

Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a professor of North American Studies at the University of Tehran, told RT that if Iran really is the Trump administration's biggest issue, it shows that the US�"doesn't understand its own priorities."

Jatras said it was unfortunate that US President Donald Trump had��surrounded himself��with neoconservatives and people from previous administrations � and that instead of conducting his promised �America First� foreign policy, he was running an �Israel and Saudi Arabia First� foreign policy.

Haley also told Fox & Friends that European countries, which have reaffirmed their commitment to the Iran nuclear deal which Trump scrapped earlier this year, are��so wrong��and that is is all down to their��ego and pride�.


Too much irony: US ambassador to the UN�@nikkihaley�says Iran is "constantly in the middle of trouble" and EU countries are too concerned with their "ego and pride" ??�https://t.co/1CDMjopjXt



� Danielle Ryan (@DanielleRyanJ)�September 26, 2018

European countries have come up with a new��special purpose vehicle��(SPV) � a�mechanism�which aims to help European companies avoid potential US sanctions if they do business in Iran after Trump reintroduced economic sanctions on Tehran earlier this year.

Asked about Brussels� so-called ego and pride, Jatras said that any mechanism the EU comes up with is��only as good as European courage and willingness to stand up against Washington, which I consider to be at best questionable�.

Jatras maintains that��all it would take��was the US Treasury Department to sanction the new EU mechanism before Europeans would��collapse like a house of cards��and bow to US demands.��I wish the europeans had some ego and pride, but they don�t, they�re worthless and weak,��he added.

Marandi, on the other had, said the US was acting like a��rogue regime��and an�"arrogant power��by dictating terms to the Europeans, telling them what they can and cannot do.��[The US] has no respect for Europe, it has no respect for European countries, it has no respect for European companies, nor European citizens,��he said. Trump, he added, is��behaving like some kind of Godfather, where he expects countries to abide by his demands and if not they'll be punished.�

In the Fox interview, Haley also hit out at former Secretary of State John Kerry who has said that he stayed in touch with Iran's foreign minister, calling the admission��anti-American��and hurtful to the country.

Jatras agreed that Kerry�s activities are��questionable��and that a former Secretary of State should not be carrying out his own foreign policy, regardless of what the current administration�s policy is.

Haley also claimed that world leaders�laughed�during Trump�s speech at the UN this week out of��respect��for how��honest��he is.
WOW! The UN audience laughs at Trump after he claims, "my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country."�pic.twitter.com/tXg50ejQqy


� Aaron Rupar (@atrupar)�September 25, 2018