US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has said that Iran has “trampled” on the sovereignty of its neighbors in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. The Iranian regime has also “shown a total disregard of the sovereignty of a country that is at a critical stage in its political development: Iraq,” Haley told a Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East. Unlike other Council members, who focused in their remarks on the Palestinian cause, Haley unleashed a storm of criticism against Iran. “This Middle East debate has been excessively and unfairly focused on Israel,” she said. “The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is serious and worthy of this Council’s attention. But if there is one country that is the source of conflict and instability in the Middle East – one country that merits a quarterly debate in the Security Council – that country is not Israel. It’s Iran,” Haley stressed. “For almost 40 years, the Iranian regime has existed outside the community of law-abiding nations. It is difficult to name a conflict in the Middle East that does not have Iran’s fingerprints on it.” Tehran “has backed dictators who gas their own people. It stokes conflict. It funds foreign fighters and terrorists. It transfers missiles to militants,” the diplomat, whose country has assumed the presidency of the Council for this month, said. “Across the Middle East, Iran has trampled on the sovereignty of its neighbors. In Lebanon. In Syria. In Yemen,” she stated. Haley told the Council that Iranian leaders pretend their meddling in the sovereignty of other countries is done in the name of religious affiliation, saying they like to claim that they have been “invited” into the affairs of other states. “In fact, the motives of the mullahs are much less elevated. They are interested in power. In the case of Iraq, their goal is to exploit uncertainty in order to create an Iranian controlled corridor for weapons and fighters from Tehran to the Mediterranean.” “In recent months, Iran’s aggression has escalated. Iranian proxies in Iraq operate openly, with funding, training, and weapons supplied by Tehran. The Iranian regime has reportedly begun over the last few months to transfer ballistic missiles to these proxies in Iraq. It is reportedly developing the capability for its proxy militias to produce their own missiles inside of Iraq,” she added.