UNITED NATIONS,
June 26 – The US withdrew from
the Iran Deal and re-impossed
the "highest level" of
sanctions on Iran, President
Donald Trump announced on May
8. On June 26, a Senior US
State Department Official held
a background press call on
U.S. efforts to discuss the
re-imposition of sanctions on
Iran with partners around the
world. The official described
a visit to Japan, and
previewed upcoming visits to
China, India and Turkey,
adding that the US has
"diplomatic muscle memory" of
how to promote secondary
sanctions, which beyond Iran
it has had on Cuba. Reference
was made to French auto
companies pulling out of Iran,
and that November 4 is a hard
deadline. UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres, alongside
ousting the Press on June 22 (video
here,
story here, new
petition here) has
managed to whisper about the
JCPOA without, as it is now
called, yet being "Justin
Trudeau-ed" by Trump.
Back on May 8 at the UN the
door to the Security Council,
at least for evicted and
restricted "non resident"
correspondents, was locked.
Periscope livestream video here. Inner
City Press, locked out, caught
only the end of UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres'
spokesman's read out of his
statement, Periscope here.
Inner City Press
previously reported on Iran,
and its depiction in a General
Assembly speech. When Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu came to the UN on 7
March 2018 to open an
exhibition about Jerusalem, he
singled out a particular UN
Security officer, Matthew
Sullivan, and brought him in
front of the microphone. Link
to photo here.
He said, as he had
on 26 September 2016, see
below, that Sullivan seeks him
out after each year's General
Assembly speech and reviews
it. Sullivan then called
Netanyahu a great orator, and
said the cartoon chart of Iran
and the bomb with a burning
fuse was his favorite. Inner
City Press went and asked the
UN Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, who had been
present. Dujarric acknowledged
it but said Sullivan
"was thrown
into a
limelight that
he did not
seek." Well,
no - Netanyahu has repeated
this same quote of Sullivan,
using Sullivan's name, in a
weekly cabinet meeting on
September 26, 2016, Facebook video
at -5:24, translated there
into English. On March 14,
Inner City Press asked the UN
again, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: of Inspector
Sullivan and Net… and Prime
Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu,
it wasn't just an incident… I
want to… I guess what I
wanted… and he didn't answer
this. In September 2016,
Prime Minister Netanyahu
quoted exactly what Inspector
Sullivan said later in 2018
about the Iran bomb fuse
speech being the best speech
ever. And so, it seems
like the question really
isn't… isn't whether he was
surprised in the basement last
week, but did anyone look into
when was the quote given that
Mr. Netanyahu quoted in
September 2016? And… and I
guess I'm asking because,
again, many UN staff have
wondered whether they can do
the same thing. Is it
appropriate to praise… to… to
offer that type of praise
twice, not once but twice, at
least? Deputy Spokesman:
First of all, we do not
control what the Prime
Minister of Israel says.
That's his business…
Inner City
Press:
He was quoting Mr. Sullivan.
Deputy Spokesman: …nor
do we police that.
Regarding private opinions
expressed by staff, they…
they're capable of talking to
people and expressing their
private opinions. This
is not a case where someone
was expressly trying to
express their opinion in
public. That was not
sought by Officer Sullivan, as
Stéphane made clear last week.
Inner City Press: But, when
somebody calls you over in
front of cameras and a
microphone, you still choose
what you say. Maybe you
didn't expect to be called
over but it's not… it's…?
Deputy Spokesman: As
Stéphane made clear, he was
doing his regular security
duties. He… there was no
speaking engagement sought on
behalf of the officer." A bit
later on March 14: "this is
not a case where someone
sought to express a public
opinion. That was put
upon him through circumstances
outside of his control.
Yes? Inner
City Press:I
just wanted to allow the
follow-up, but I just… I guess
is… your answer about that it
wasn't thrust on him, this
also covers the September 2016
statement quoted by… Deputy
Spokesman: He had not…
he was not making a public
statement. That was
something he had expressed to
a person who then disclosed
it. Inner City Press: Right,
but he did it twice, with… I
mean, in… given that the first
time was… I don't know.
Was it appropriate? Deputy
Spokesman: We've said
what we've said." On March 9,
after being told by another UN
Security officer that Sullivan
was now seeking to file some
sort of complaint against
Inner City Press, at the days
noon briefing Inner City Press
asked again, getting off off
in the process by Agence
France Presse. Video here.
From the UN's March 9 transcript:
Inner City Press: Yesterday, I
had asked you about what
happened during the visit of
Prime Minister [Benjamin]
Netanyahu and… and Officer
Matthew Sullivan. You had
said that he was cast into a
light that he hadn't expected,
and that was fine. It…
the… the… since found that in a…
in a meeting with his Cabinet in
September 2016, Prime Minister
Netanyahu said, this is a quote
from his Facebook page,
translated into English from
Hebrew, "I met there with
Matthew Sullivan, an American
security man, a former New York
City policeman and he waits for
me every time at the exit.
He always gives me his opinion
about the speech and he told me
it was an excellent speech, but
I had given him a better
one. I asked him which one
was better. He said the
bomb speech was better."
So it was exactly what was said
downstairs yesterday, like
almost verbatim, so I guess I
want to ask you, it doesn’t seem
like it was as spontaneous as…
Spokesman: I don't speak
for the Prime Minister of
Israel, nor do I write his
remarks that he shares with his
Cabinet. As I said, again,
Inspector Sullivan is a
distinguished supervisor in our
security service, and I think I
answered your question. Inner
City Press:
I guess my question is, and I
say this because many staff
members have reached out and
said they've been told not to
speak in exactly this way, so I
just want to be clear whether
they can or they can't. If
the UN was aware of these
comments… Spokesman: I
think he was… Inspector Sullivan
has been put in a very difficult
position that he did not… that
was not of his own making. Inner
City Press:
Was he aware of the statement in
2016, that he was being quoted?
Spokesman: I don't
know. Yes, Carole?
Question: Can I ask about…
You've asked five questions..."
And thus Dujarric let / used AFP
to cut off the line of
questioning. Left to the end,
Inner City Press continued:
maybe you don't know, but you
could find out. Was either
the Department of Safety and
Security (DSS) or Inspector
Sullivan aware back in September
2016, when the Prime Minister
made the comments and put them
online, saying that this high
inspector, as you've called him,
in the UN praised my… my Iran
bomb speech. And if he had
been…Spokesman: I'm not
aware that anyone was aware of
those comments.
Inner City
Press:
Now that you are aware, does
what happened yesterday seem as
spontaneous as you portrayed it
yesterday? Spokesman: It
is not for me to say whether or
not the things that were done or
said by a visiting Head of
Government in this organization
is spontaneous or not
spontaneous. What I do
know is that Mr. Sullivan,
Inspector Sullivan, was there to
supervise the security
arrangements of a high-level
guest. He was sought out
by the Prime Minister and in no
way sought to find himself in
front of the camera. Inner City
Press: But if… if the UN were
aware that a person at his level
of the UN had been quoted in
this way, as he was in 2016…
Spokesman: You know,
people… I'm not going to go into
hypotheticals. I'm just
stating what I know as
facts." It's not
hypothetical. Here's the online
English translation of what
Netanyahu told his cabinet in
September 2016: "I met there
with Matthew Sullivan, an
American security man, a former
New York City policeman, and he
waits for me every time at the
exit from the United Nations
General Assembly. He always
gives me his opinion about the
speech and he told me that it
was an excellent speech, but
that I have given a better one.
I asked him which one was
better. He said the bomb speech
was better. He said, 'I express
the general sense that United
States citizens have in their
massive support for the State of
Israel.' They see us as
representing their values and
this continues and it is the
fundamental truth about the
special relationship between the
two countries." But on 7 March
2018 UN Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric told Inner City Press
that Sullivan had been caught up
in the moment. What, repeating
word for word what Netanyahu has
been recounting for a year and a
half? We'll have more on this.
***
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