... to harp on Iran

The maneuver drew a swift rebuke from the Russian ambassador, who sharply criticized the attempt to brush past the Security Council meeting agenda.

A United Nations Security Council meeting meant for debating a peace settlement between the people of Palestine and Israel took a sharp turn east when the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors brushed past the issue entirely and instead raised concerns over Iran's allegedly “destabilizing” activities in the Middle East.

The maneuver by the two allies drew a swift rebuke from Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya, who sharply criticized the transparent attempt to ignore the agenda item planned for the session while failing even to mention the Palestinian question.

The move came as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump faces increased criticism and isolation over its opposition to the six-party nuclear deal signed with Iran in 2015. It also comes as Tel Aviv drastically boosts the construction of settler units on occupied Palestinian land in blatant defiance of international law and with virtually unlimited White House support.

Taking the lead, Israeli ambassador Danny Dalon began reading Tel Aviv's rap sheet of alleged Iranian offenses including support for global terrorism, instigating anti-Semitism, abusing human rights and aspiring to build a nuclear weapon meant to wipe Israelis off the map.

Continuing on the same theme, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley continued to drive home the point that the Iranian “rogue regime” was developing ballistic missiles, raising the specter of “another North Korea.” She also noted that the Iranian regime continues to behave in a manner that raises questions over whether Iran could “still be considered a fit and trusted member of the international community.”

"Where's the outrage of this council?" she asked.

Unable to hide his sense of exasperation, the head of the Russian delegation squinted his eyes and peered down at a printout of the days plans as he took the floor of the U.N.S.C.

"Mr. President, the agenda for the meeting today is the situation in the Middle East including the Palestinian question,” the Russian ambassador said. “Well, at least this is what the paper I have in front of me states. At the same time, the statements made by some of the delegations today so far make me question that.”

“Perhaps they did confuse the agenda item they were speaking on and they thought what we were discussing today is the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action of 5+1 (on the Iranian nuclear program),” he added, noting that it is a necessary topic of discussion and that signatories to the deal have questions for the delegations of “certain countries” regarding the deal, making a veiled reference to the U.S.

"Russia is openly concerned by the fact the Israeli and US delegations didn’t even utter the word ‘Palestine’," he continued. "This is alarming and saddening because we don’t see any progress whatsoever in the field of an Israeli-Palestinian settlement and, more than that, we don’t hear even references to it - something that doesn’t inspire optimism by any means."

Nebenzya added that the political turbulence in the broader Middle East and North Africa “shouldn’t overshadow the priority of solution of the Palestinian problem that has a fundamental character for long-term normalization in the region,” noting that direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians must continue and that Russia would be happy to host such talks.

Since the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump in January 2017, Tel Aviv has drastically boosted the construction of settler units on occupied Palestinian land in blatant defiance of international law.

Less than a month before Trump took office, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2334, which called on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.”

While Trump has said it would be “nice” if the Israelis held back from expanding settlements, he has also said that his administration “very, very strongly” backs Tel Aviv’s exclusive claim to the contested city of Jerusalem, where he would “love” to see a U.S. embassy built.

The U.S. president has also broken with previous positions of successive administrations by casually remarking that future peace deals between the Palestinian Authority and the Israelis countries can result in “two-state (or) one-state ... I like the one that both parties like.”

Offering a rebuttal to the U.S.-Israeli assertions of Iran's lawless behavior, Iranian ambassador to the United Nations Gholam Ali Khoshroo noted that “no country has done more than Iran” in the fight against terrorism in the Middle East such as that committed by the Islamic State group, al-Qaida and other Salafist-Takfiri extremist groups.

"If we had hegemonic ambitions the nuclear deal would never have been reached,” he said. “The new U.S. administration approach and the recent dangerous strategy toward the deal and Iran runs counter to the will of the international community.”

“Today we are witnessing that the United States is more isolated globally than ever before and the veracity of Iran's policies and positions have become evident to the international community."