INTERESTING: An impeachment motion against Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has been filed in the parliament’s system.
The trigger was Abbas Araghchi’s contacts in New York with US officials, including envoy Steve Witkoff, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Tehran MP Amirhossein Sabeti, who filed the motion, says that meeting was not authorized by the Supreme Leader and fell outside Iran’s policy framework.
Gen. Abdel Fattah al Burhan, leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces, whose war effort is backed by powerful Islamist factions, was supposed to address the UN General Assembly in New York. He never got his U.S. visa.
Reuters reports Washington tied the visa to Burhan accepting a U.S. backed 90 day ceasefire. Burhan refused.
Burhan responded publicly to the U.S. pressure.
“No one can blackmail us, no one can intimidate us, and no one has any hold over us,” he said.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung openly criticized Ukrainian President Zelensky for publicly disclosing the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea in his UN General Assembly speech.
Lee called the disclosure "deeply regrettable," saying it violated a confidentiality agreement and could create diplomatic and national security problems.
Meeting and discussion between Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and David Milliband, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Barred from entering the U.S. for a second straight year, Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN General Assembly by pre-recorded video. He called Washington's visa denial and sanctions unlawful, and said the PA has kept its commitments to non-violence and the two-state solution.
Netanyahu speaks tonight at 9:00 PM Israel time at the UN General Assembly in New York. On the sidelines he meets the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama and Ethiopia, Colombia's vice president, and the prime ministers of Greece, Slovenia and Papua New Guinea.
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan told a UN General Assembly event in New York that Israeli security is tied to Palestinian security, and that Palestinian statehood and an end to the occupation are pillars of regional and international stability. He urged states that have not recognized Palestine to do so.
Zelensky, speaking at the United Nations General Assembly:
"Russia is a country that already has 17 million square kilometers of its own territory. To add another thousand square kilometers, Putin sacrificed 248 people for every square kilometer. Does anyone still think he is a reasonable and moderate person?"
On chemical weapons: "In order to close the issue of chemical weapons, we destroyed 42 chemical bombs and we are working with the International Atomic Energy Agency with the highest level of transparency."
So far, most of the UNGA speakers used the podium to sharply criticize Israel, with Gaza and the ‘West Bank’ dominating many of the speeches.
1António Guterres, UN Secretary General: Called Hamas's Oct. 7 attack "abhorrent," then said "wha...
So far, most of the UNGA speakers used the podium to sharply criticize Israel, with Gaza and the ‘West Bank’ dominating many of the speeches.
1António Guterres, UN Secretary General: Called Hamas's Oct. 7 attack "abhorrent," then said "what followed was an onslaught on Palestinians in Gaza with a scale of killing and destruction unlike anything I have witnessed in all my years as secretary general." He warned that Israeli violence, displacement and settlement expansion in the West Bank are "bulldozing the path to peace and raising the spectre of ethnic cleansing."
2Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil: Said "generations of Palestinians will carry the pain and trauma left by the genocide of women and children perpetrated by Netanyahu's government in Gaza," while adding that Israeli civilians pay the price for Hamas terrorism. He also attacked efforts to undermine the ICC.
3King Abdullah II, Jordan: Accused Israel of war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, calling them "two fronts of the same Israeli strategy," with Gaza remade through destruction and the West Bank through "de facto annexation." Said demolishing Palestinian homes for settlements "is not law enforcement; it is forcible transfer."
4Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey: Accused Israel of "state terror," called Gaza "the most inhumane and shameful concentration camp of our time," and said "we are facing a genocidal mindset that is never satisfied with killing." The Israeli delegation walked out.
5Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar: Called Gaza "genocide in the fullest sense of the word" and "a stain of shame on the conscience of humanity," and said there can be no just international order "as long as Palestine remains a blind spot within it."
6Emmanuel Macron, France: In his final UNGA speech, asked "What is our credibility worth if we remain inactive in the face of Gaza?" and called the situation "a spectacle that shames us all." Also criticized settler violence in the West Bank.
7Andy Burnham, United Kingdom: In his first UNGA speech as prime minister, called Oct. 7 "utterly horrific" and said Britain stands with Israel against threats from Iran, but added "this does not justify the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza or the West Bank." He singled out the E1 settlement plan.
8 Ahmad al Sharaa (Jolani), Syria:
Speaking on the sidelines of UNGA ahead of his address, said "it is not appropriate that what happened on October 7 sets the policy for Syria," arguing Israel's approach "brings more security threats." He said Damascus's relations with the US and the West are working but not with Israel, "so I believe the problem is with Israel, not with Syria." He also revealed that talks with Israel had at one point reached "almost 90%" agreement, and rejected the US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at UNGA On Israel:
"Israel stands out for its exceptionality and attacks Syria with approximately 500 air and artillery strikes, more than 1,200 incursions into the territory and close to 300 arrests and d...
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at UNGA On Israel:
"Israel stands out for its exceptionality and attacks Syria with approximately 500 air and artillery strikes, more than 1,200 incursions into the territory and close to 300 arrests and detentions of Syrians. This threatens the stability of Syria, is contrary to the trend of the entire world and evokes in the memory of the Syrians a painful period from which they were barely able to escape."
"Our stated position still stands: commitment to the 1974 agreement and a call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces to the lines of December 8, 2024."
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, addressing the UN General Assembly, said the bloodshed and destruction have been stopped and that the country has begun reconstruction and recovery.
Iranian state media reports that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff at the U.N. General Assembly. The account differs from Witkoff’s description of talks conducted through mediators.
The Islamic regime says its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz included lifting the U.S. naval blockade and releasing frozen Iranian assets. It also called for an end to the war across all “resistance” fronts.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff says American officials held lengthy indirect talks with Iran on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, with mediators shuttling between the delegations throughout the day.
“They successfully completed a round of discussions that we hope will prove constructive and promising,” Witkoff said. “The mediators will continue their work.”
