Trump chooses Iran hawk as UN ambassador

“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as US Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement to the media on Monday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Stefanik, a congresswoman from New York, would replace career diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who has been representing the US at the UN since 2021.

In a post on X on Sunday, Stefanik wrote that the US was “ready for a return to President Trump’s MAXIMUM PRESSURE campaign against Iran”.

She argued that Tehran has been “emboldened by the weakness of the Biden-Harris Administration”.

During Trump’s first term, Washington scrapped the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and ramped up sanctions against Tehran. In January 2020, Iran’s senior commander, Qassem Soleimani, was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport.

Stefanik has been one of the strongest supporters of Israel during its war against the Gaza Strip, and air attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon. She backed the Israeli decision to ban the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA).

“The Biden-Harris Administration has sent over $1 billion to UNRWA since 2021, filling the coffers of this terrorist front. This must end,” Stefanik said earlier this month.

She also repeatedly drew attention to instances of antisemitism during pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the US.

Israel’s envoy to the UN, Danny Danon, welcomed Stefanik’s nomination, praising her “unwavering moral clarity”.

Outgoing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been criticized by Arab American and Muslim American groups for not suspending military aid to Israel and not doing enough to bring about a ceasefire in the besieged enclave.