Ambassador Bill Richardson says the United States' needs our allies to back us and admit that when Iran shot a U.S. drone down it was a provocative act. Watch on Fox News.
Quotes from the interview:
"I think regardless of where the drone was shot down it was a provocative act by Iran. So what we need at the Security Council is to deescalate but also to get France and Britain, our allies, to back us with Iran not proceeding with their plans to enrich uranium. And secondly maybe to get vessels to go in the Strait of Hormuz to prevent any kind of escalation or an attack on a tanker as the Iranians did. That’s what we have to do at the UN Security Council tomorrow."
"We need to make sure is that our allies back us. For instance, our allies should admit that this was a provocative act, shooting down the drone. What we need is Russia and China, especially in the Security Council because for instance, 80% of all the oil go through the Strait of Hormuz to Asia, to China, to Japan. Look, I don’t think we should have gotten out of the nuclear agreement, but at the same time I think Iran is being provocative. What is needed here is the campaign of maximum pressure but also diplomacy. Get us to the negotiating table, at least to deescalate. "
"We are punching back, we’re putting additional sanctions on tomorrow…we have forces in Iraq, Syria, in Afghanistan, American forces that might be hit back. I want to prevent an escalation. I think you can deal with this with additional pressure on Iran, additional economics pressure. The American people don’t want another war in the Middle East."
Ambassador Bill Richardson served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1997 to 1998, Secretary of Energy from 1998 to 2000, and Governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011.
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