UN Security Council: Theresa May defends Brexit vote at General Assembly as Trump chairs meeting
US President repeatedly attacks Iran for second time in two days
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has chairing a United Nations Security Council meeting - a first for the US president.
It means that most of the attention that would have been focused on events at the General Assembly - where UK Prime Minister Theresa May would later defend the Brexit vote - was instead focused on the UN's most powerful body, where the US currently holds the rotating presidency.
While the meeting of the council addressed the issue of nonproliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, Mr Trump himself used the platform to attack Iran and accuse China - but not Russia - of meddling in 2018 midterm elections.
On Tuesday, during an unabashedly "America First" speech, Mr Trump said Iranian leaders "sow chaos, death and destruction" and "spread mayhem across the Middle East and far beyond." His national security adviser, John Bolton, also warned that there would be "hell to pay" if Tehran crossed the US, its allies or their partners.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani responded by accusing the Mr Trump administration of violating the rules of international law and "state obligations" by withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with the US and five other major powers.
Mr Rouhani did not to attend the Security Council meeting that. The council is populated by five permanent members -- the US, China, Russia, Britain and France -- and 10 other member states, who occupy a council seat for two-year terms. Iran is not among them.
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Mr Wang is urging the security council to seek peace, and to no be solely concerned with geopolitical matters.
Like everyone else on the panel today, of course, Mr Wang says that China is worried about weapons of mass destruction.
Mr Wang says that every member of the UN security council needs to do its part with the nonproliferation treaty, and to shoulder their fair share of the burden to reduce nuclear proliferation in the world.
Mr Wang noted that there are not perfect international agreements, but said that the Iran nuclear agreement is doing its job.
He continued to say that trade and business deals made in the wake of the Iran deal should be respected.
Mr Wang says that China supports the understandings between the North Koreans and Americans during the Singapore summit earlier this year.
"We call on all our partners to seize the political opportunities to work for action," Mr Wang said.
Mr Wang has pushed back against Mr Trump's claims that China has interfered in US domestic policy, saying that his country has never done so and would not do so.
Mr Trump has claimed that China did so during the meeting in New York this week.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that the "unilateral withdrawal of the United States" from the Iran nuclear agreement poses "serious threats".
"Russia is convinced we need to keep the" Iran nuclear agreement, he said. He said that not doing so could lead to destabilization in the region.
Mr Lavrov has criticized the United States frequently, and has said that "certain western countries" have accused Syria of using chemical weapons, but Mr Lavrov says that Syria destroyed their chemical weapons.
He continued to blame any use of chemical weapons use in Syria on "terrorist" groups, and insists that the Syrian government has not used such chemical weapons.
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