Israel’s UN ambassador calls Iranian president's UN speech a ‘game’

“Hezbollah’s organizational and human strength far surpasses these notions. Their power, capabilities, and resilience are vastly superior to being significantly undermined by these martyrdoms,” Khamenei said on Wednesday.

“Undoubtedly, the loss of an individual, particularly a commander with a distinguished record of jihad in the path of God, is a significant blow. There is no question about that. Yet, despite these losses, they have prevailed thus far,” he added.

The Iranian leader's speech comes amid escalating regional tensions, as Tehran's key proxy group faces an intensifying Israeli offensive. Since Monday, Israeli military operations in Lebanon have resulted in 569 fatalities and over 1,800 injuries, including the assassination of multiple top commanders over the weekend.

In another part of his remarks, Khamenei likened the operations of Lebanese and Palestinian forces against Israel to Iran’s own struggle during the eight-year war with Iraq. He reaffirmed the “religious and undeniable duty” to return Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Mosque to their rightful owners.

Khamenei further asserted, "The Palestinian and Lebanese resistance will ultimately prevail," accusing Israel of targeting civilians out of frustration with its inability to defeat its adversaries.

Since Hezbollah’s founding in 1982, Iran has remained its steadfast ally. Khamenei attributed the recent escalation in Lebanon to US involvement following Israeli strikes that destroyed communication equipment provided to Hezbollah.

Despite Washington’s claims of ignorance regarding Israel’s plans, Khamenei insisted, "The US is both aware and complicit," adding that President Biden’s administration "requires a victory for the Zionist regime" ahead of the upcoming November presidential election.

“This is a great vacation for them, believe me. They love this—they can get out of Iran, relax, have a great meal, and see things they couldn't see in Iran. So, this is an excuse to get out,” Barry Rosen, senior advisor at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Iran International.

Staying at the Millennium Hilton, the visit is costing over $1,000 per night for each member of Masoud Pezeshkian's 40-person delegation, including his family, Rosen remarked that "the larger the delegation, the better time they have."

He further suggested that the group seems detached from the ongoing crises in Iran, where "the economy's in shambles, there's a water crisis, an electricity crisis, every possible crisis, and most of all, a human rights crisis."

Criticizing the issuance of visas for Pezeshkian and his delegation, Rosen recalled a previous instance when he had successfully opposed the appointment of a UN ambassador, saying, "Years ago, I complained against the attempt to bring in a UN ambassador by the name of Aboutalebi, and he was stopped."

However, Rosen acknowledged that diplomatic protocol is difficult to challenge, stating that while the delegation is technically present "legally," he personally does not view them as such.

In 2014, the White House refused to issue a US visa to Iran's nominee for UN ambassador, Hamid Aboutalebi, due to his involvement in the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran, during which Barry Rosen and dozens of others were taken hostage.

The decision effectively barred Aboutalebi from assuming his position at the United Nations in New York, the official linked to the student group that orchestrated the embassy takeover.

On November 4, 1979, a group of radical students loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini stormed the US Embassy in Tehran, seizing American hostages for 444 days. Taking place in the chaotic aftermath of Iran's Islamic Revolution and the collapse of the Pahlavi monarchy, the crisis deeply strained US-Iranian relations, leaving a lasting impact for years to come.

Recalling the day of the hostage crisis, Rosen said, "We were taken hostage around 10 o'clock in the morning. It was raining, and before I knew it, several hundred people had scaled the walls and burst into my office. They told me, 'You're a member of the nest of spies.'"

To this day, the Islamic Republic refers to the former US embassy in Iran, now defunct, as the "nest of spies." He went on to describe the ordeal: "They put me in handcuffs, threw me into the kitchen of the ambassador's residence, and from that point, I was interrogated, beaten, and tied up.

"As I lay on the floor, I heard Imam Khomeini say that taking Americans as hostages was the right thing to do. At that moment, I realized I was in serious trouble for a long time."

Explaining that his initial trip to Iran was as part of the Peace Corps, a US government program that trains and deploys volunteers for international development assistance, Rosen recounted how he later became a press attaché, working alongside American Ambassador William H. Sullivan. His role was to inform both Iranian journalists and the international press about the events unfolding during the Iranian Revolution.

Reflecting on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in police custody, which sparked months of protests across Iran in 2022, Rosen emphasized the resilience of Iranian women, calling them "the valiant heroes of Iran." He remarked on the severe punishment that women have endured over the past two years.

"There are so many people still going through the jails, being punished, with death penalties being carried out and hangings happening all over the place," Rosen added. "This regime has a lot to answer for."

The report entitled “Iran's President Says He’s Prepared to Ease Tensions With Israel” was released after Pezeshkian met with a US media delegation in New York on Monday.

"We are prepared to give up all our weapons, provided Israel also disarms, and an international organization steps in to ensure security in the region. We don't even need them—we know how to secure our own safety,” Pezeshkian is heard saying in an audio file from the meeting obtained by Iran International.

Some hardliners have even called for Pezeshkian’s impeachment, signaling potentially serious domestic political strife. It remains unclear where Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stands. While Pezeshkian's foreign policy statements were likely approved by Khamenei, it remains to be seen whether he will step in to rein in the hardliners.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and the head of the government’s Public Relations Council, Elias Hazrati, strongly rejected Bloomberg’s claim, but an audio recording of the meeting obtained by Iran International confirmed the the Iranian president made those remarks.
Pezeshkian said on X Tuesday that he had criticized the “UN inaction against the crimes of the occupying regime” in a meeting with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“The silence of the world, especially the Western countries, about the death of 41,000 innocent people in Gaza is incomprehensible. The Islamic world will not allow them to turn Lebanon into another Gaza,” he added in his tweet.

“A more beautiful world! President Pezeshkian talked about a region free from weapons of mass destruction and a world free from nuclear weapons,” the Pezeshkian administration’s X account posted Tuesday.

The harshest criticism has come from ultra-hardliners within the Paydari Party and its allies, who continue to quote the Bloomberg headline despite "corrections" from Araghchi and others. They accuse Pezeshkian of betraying Hezbollah, Hamas, Yemen, and other Iranian allies in the region.

“The least that should be done after this scandal in the US is to impeach such an incompetent person and remove him from the presidency of Iran!” one of the critics outraged by the alleged suggestion of the possibility of escalation with Israel posted on X.

“It seems that the multilateral diplomacy of Javad Zarif and President Pezeshkian will be damaging to the Resistance Axis. The message of peace from Iran as the main supporter of the Resistance Axis when Lebanon is on fire has boldened the Israeli army,” another critic charged.

Mohammad-Javad Zarif, Pezeshkian’s Vice President for Strategic Affairs, also took to X to defend Pezeshkian for “the most well-founded defense of the resistance of the people of Palestine, Lebanon, and Yemen” in New York, “exposing the dual standards of the Western countries in matters such as weaponization, war, and human rights” and “showing that genocidal Israel is an aggressor with nuclear weapons”.

Opponents of the Islamic Republic, however, are criticizing Pezeshkian's government for its support of militant groups within the Axis of Resistance, rather than for any alleged attempts at de-escalation in the region.

“Is Mr. Pezeshkian the President of Lebanon, Yemen, and Palestine … that he is talking on their behalf? Is it an honor to put Iran’s money and wealth in the mouths of terrorists?” one of the replies to Zarif’s post in Pezeshkian’s defense charged.

“Why did Lebanon and Yemen get themselves involved in this as if Israel occupied their lands? It was you who armed them. Otherwise, why should Lebanon and Yemen get involved in a Palestinian war?” another comment to Zarif’s post read.

“You and the criminal regime under the criminal Khamenei’s command send money and weapons to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah instead of supporting your own people … You’d better pay heed to human rights violations in Iran instead of theatrical human rights performances in New York…,” another X post declared.

Since his arrival in New York, Pezeshkian has held meetings with the UN Secretary-General, the President of the European Council, the King of Jordan, and presidents of Switzerland, Turkey, and Finland, the Elders Group, and some US media representatives.

Pezeshkian also sat for an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in which he warned about the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and an all-out war in the region.

In his Tuesday address to the UN General Assembly, he stated that Iran is willing to return to the now-defunct JCPOA nuclear agreement, provided the West meets its obligations, which would effectively mean the lifting of sanctions.

Three sources confirmed to Reuters that discussions are ongoing, although Russia has not yet committed to providing the Yakhont supersonic missiles, also known as P-800 Oniks.

Such weapons would enhance the Houthis' ability to strike commercial vessels in the Red Sea with greater accuracy amid the blockade which began in November, posing a heightened threat to US and European warships defending the area.

Amid the ongoing war in Gaza, the Houthis, claiming solidarity with Iran-backed Hamas, have enforced a maritime blockade of the Red Sea, targeting commercial shipping, on the orders of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Initially focused on the Red Sea, these attacks have now extended to other key waterways, including the Indian Ocean, disrupting international shipping and resulting in dozens of international seamen unrelated to Israel being taken hostage.

A US-led coalition of over 20 nations has mobilized to address the threat to global trade and the freedom of movement in the vital maritime corridors.

"Russia is negotiating with the Houthis for the transfer of Yakhont supersonic anti-ship missiles," a Western intelligence source told Reuters. "The Iranians are brokering the talks but do not want to have their signature over it."

In July, The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia was considering sending the missiles. In August, CNN reported that Russia had prepared to deliver missiles and other military equipment to the Houthis but pulled back last minute amid behind-the-scenes efforts by the United States and Saudi Arabia to halt the transfer.

Two regional officials said that the Houthis and Russians met in Tehran at least twice this year and that talks to supply dozens of missiles, which have a range of about 300 km (186 miles), were ongoing, with further meetings expected in the coming weeks.

For years, Iran has been accused of supplying the Houthis with funding, weapons and technical expertise, enabling the group to develop long-range missiles and drones. These shipments, often disguised as commercial cargo, have sometimes been intercepted by US naval forces and other international military operations.

In early September, the Houthis reached central Israel with a missile for the first time, which they claimed was hypersonic. The missile landed in an open area near Ben Gurion International Airport, causing no casualties and minimal damage.

Following the incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel would exact a "heavy price" on the Houthis, who control northern Yemen. In a press conference, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied that Tehran had supplied hypersonic missiles to the Houthis or short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.

"The President of the Republic stressed the need to obtain without delay the release of the three French nationals arbitrarily held hostage in Iranian prisons for two years in undignified conditions, an imperative prerequisite for any improvement in bilateral relations with France," the French presidency said in a statement.

Macron met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

According to the Iranian readout of the meeting, Pezeshkian criticized France’s support for Israel in its war with Iran-backed militant group Hamas. He said, “The continuation of Israel’s crimes could lead to a situation that is out of control.”

Last year, the French government accused Iran of adopting a policy of "state hostage-taking" and "blackmail," intensifying calls for the release of French nationals detained in Iran.

Cecile Kohler, a teacher and head of the National Federation of Education, Culture and Vocational Training (FNEC FP-FO), and her partner Jacques Paris, also a member of the same trade union, were arrested on May 8, 2022. They are accused by Iranian authorities of inciting labor protests, charges both their families and the French government deny.

Apart from the couple, other French citizens detained in Iran include Olivier, known only by his first name, and Louis Arnaud, a banking consultant sentenced in 2022 to five years in jail on national security charges.