UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations General Assembly became a stage for blistering condemnation of Israel on Wednesday, as world leaders lined up to denounce its atrocities in Gaza and escalating conflicts across the region, delivering some of the sharpest rhetoric the chamber has heard in years.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, addressing the assembly for the first time since the US andIsrael launched an all-out war on his country, vowed Tehran would never surrender.
Rejecting President Trump’s warning that he could ‘annihilate’ Iran absent a diplomatic deal, Pezeshkian told the 193-member body that threats only stiffened his country’s resolve.
‘The remarks made by the US president yesterday ... are a sign of a bullying mentality,’ he said, as the American delegationwalked out at the start of his speech. ‘The Iranian people will not bow to pressure ... Those who are terrorists and train terror-ists call us terrorists.
He accused Washington of an act of terrorism in assassinating former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the outset of the conflict, insisting Tehran had not started the war.
Holding up photographs of schoolgirls, Pezeshkian pointed out the US of killing civilians, citing Iranian officials’ claims that a missile strike on a primary school in Minab, hours after the US and Israeli attacks began, killed more than 175 children and teachers. Despite his steely tone, Pezeshkian noted Iran was ready to resolve tensions through negotiations but would not accept the language of force.
He maintained Iran will not seek nuclear bombs but will not give up its peaceful nuclear programme, stating, ‘Neither nuclear weapons nor giving up nuclear knowledge.
Pezeshkian also insisted Tehran will not allow the Strait of Hormuz to be used as leverage against it.
‘We cannot let some have free access and bolster their interests from the waterway, while at the same time using that waterway to impose their aggression upon us,’ he said.
‘It cannot be the case that everyone benefits from the Strait of Hormuz while we are denied access to shipping through this waterway. The permanent deployment of hostile fleets and the expansion of the war will not lead to peace.
‘What credibility do we have?’ French President Emmanuel Macron used what is likely to be his final UN address to eviscerate Trump’s claim to have delivered peace in Gaza noting that not a single humanitarian corridor had reopened.
‘A year ago, here in this very hall, about a dozen states had recognised Palestine. I hear the cynicism of some people: ‘Recognition is just a piece of paper; look at the reality,’’ Macron said, banging his fist on the podium.
‘But what credibility do we have if we continue to remain inactive in the face of Gaza? Some boast of a supposed peace. But that peace has not reopened humanitarian access for a single second. Are we simply to stand by and watch this spectacle that should shame us all?’ Macron also took a swipe at increased settler violence.
‘Look at what is happening in the West Bank, where every day violations are committed. In whose name? Hamas has never operated in the West Bank,’ he said.
‘What is happening there is building, day by day, the impossibility of a project that should be based on respect for the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to exist.
Warning against a resurgent ‘law of the jungle, Macron called for countries to recommit to international law.
Gaza and Kashmir Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan similarly condemned the situation in Gaza, telling the assembly the UN had become unable to fulfil its duty of preserving peace.
‘The United Nations, established 81 years ago to maintain peace and security, has become unable to fulfil this mission, or rather it has been made unable to do so,’ Erdogan said, calling for Security Council reform.
Erdogan demanded the immediate reconstruction of the devastated Gaza Strip and urged world leaders to exert greater pressure on Israel to end what he called ‘our time’s most inhumane, most embarrassing concentration camp.
‘No one who holds humanity, compassion and mercy in their heart, with a sense of justice and conscience can turn a blind eye’ to Gaza, he said.
Noting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ absence, he added, ‘This injustice against our Palestinian brothers and sisters wounds the consciences’.
Shifting his focus to South Asia, Erdogan raised the Kashmir issue, stating its resolution must accord with UN resolutions and is indispensable for lasting peace.
The Turkish president urged that all regional disputes, including Kashmir, be resolved under the UN Charter, strongly stressing the need for meaningful dialogue for India-Pakistan disputes.
Reflecting the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, Erdogan lent strong support to Pakistan’s stance and active diplomacy on the world stage, presenting his arguments in the presence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Reiterating Turkiye’s solidarity, Erdogan emphasised that his nation stands with its Kashmiri brothers today as it always has.
‘UK won’t stay passive’ Meanwhile, Britain’s prime minister Andy Burnham declared that the United Kingdom will not remain passive as horrific suffering escalates in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. He warned the viability of a two-state solution is increasingly under threat.
Speaking before the assembly, Burnham said London’s recent sanctions targeting illegal Israeli settlements reflect the recognition that occupying Palestinian territory violates international law.
While noting the Oct 7 attack was ‘utterly horrific’ and that the UK stands with Israel against threats from Iran, Burnham clarified, ‘this does not justify the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza or the West Bank.
‘Far too many people have died including so many children,’ Burnham said. ‘Far too little aid is getting in. And it has gone on for far too long.’-Agencies