Iran-US war latest: Netanyahu calls Tehran attack ‘easy decision’ amid mass walkout by UN delegates

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Benjamin Netanyahu denounced a mass of delegates who walked out of the UN General Assembly when he took to the podium as “moral cowards” before he said that attacking Iran “was one of the easiest decisions I've ever had to make”.

“In defending itself, Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall," the Israeli prime minister said.

"In fact, I want you to know that many of their leaders even thank us privately for taking out Iran’s nukes.”

When Netanyahu walked to the podium, a mix of cheers, boos and mass walkouts erupted.

Scores of delegates trooped out and a majority of seats sat empty afterwards. “Order in the hall, please,” general assembly president Khalilur Rahman said repeatedly.

Earlier, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said that people in Gaza face “a genocidal war that has created an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”.

In a video address, Abbas said the Palestinian people face the most “dangerous time” in their history, citing “decades of historic injustice, uprooting, asylum seeking, occupation and deprivation of basic right to self determination and independence”.

Benjamin Netanyahu was making a short visit to the US for his UN address and, unusually, without a planned meeting with US president Donald Trump, whom he praised during his speech.

"We will continue ‌to defend our state. We will continue to win because we have no other choice. In this battle against the barbarians, we've had no greater partner than President ​Trump. I thank him. I thank him for his bold leadership," he said.

Delivering a defiant address to the United Nations on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mounted a firm defence of Israel's regional military actions, attempting to push back against deepening global isolation ahead of upcoming domestic elections.

As he approached the podium inside the General Assembly hall, several delegations staged a walkout in protest, prompting the Israeli leader to label those departing "moral cowards."

The Saudi, Pakistani and ​Turkish ⁠foreign ministers met within the framework of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, according to a Saudi foreign ministry statement after Houthis step up attack.

They condemned the attacks targeting Mecca and other civilian sites, while affirming Saudi Arabia's right to defend itself, the statement said.

"The ministers also discussed arrangements for holding an urgent meeting of the chiefs of staff of the ⁠three countries to discuss ways to support Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, which stipulates that an attack against any one of the parties constitutes an ​attack against all ⁠parties," the statement said.

The meeting was announced shortly after Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian ‌sought to distance Iran from the Houthis in an American television interview on Thursday.

"The Houthis are responsible for their own actions," Mr Pezeshkian told the Fox News a day after he appeared before the UN General Assembly in New York.

The interview and speech by Iranian president took place amid a pause in fighting between the US and Iran ‌and a brief attempt at diplomacy in New York, with Qatar serving as intermediary between the warring parties.

New York mayor Zohran Mamdani Zohran Mamdani has hit back at Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after he called him “New York’s antisemitic mayor” during his speech at the UN General Assembly.

Repeating his criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza where more than 73,000 people have been killed since the conflict following Hamas 7 October 2023 attack, he said, Mr Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies “meant to sanitise his genocide of Palestinians”.

“Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Earlier during his address, Mr Netanyahu referring to Mr Mamdani, said: “You tried to stop me from coming here. You tried. You tried to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth.

“To all those spreading these ‌lies about my country ‌and about our brave soldiers, whether they sit in ⁠this hall or in the office of the anti-Semitic mayor of New York, I say this: Shame on you.”

Several high-profile celebrities have been detained outside of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City as part of a planned protest while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered remarks.

Hacks star and Emmy winner Hannah Einbinder and Thelma & Louise actor Susan Sarandon were among those detained, per the New York Post. It’s unclear if they were hit with charges.

A massive crowd gathered Thursday ahead of Netanyahu’s planned speech as part of an anti-war sit-in protest outside the UN organized by Jewish Voice for Peace. Photos showed celebrities and personalities — including Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon, whistleblower Chelsea Manning and comedian Caleb Heron — among hundreds in attendance.

Protesters chanted, “Netanyahu you can’t hide, you are wanted for genocide,” while demanding his arrest.NYPD officers tried to clear the street outside the UN ahead of Netanyahu’s speech but resorted to detaining attendees.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will hold an urgent, high-level meeting under a joint defence pact to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Houthis in Yemen, while Tehran sought to distance itself from the rapid advance of its Houthi allies.

The Houthis have launched strikes on the Saudi-backed government in Yemen and repeatedly fired into Saudi Arabia, disrupting oil flows from the world's ⁠largest energy exporter, as part of a wider Middle East war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

The Houthis said they had fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets on Thursday, while authorities in Saudi Arabia said they had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Houthi fighters.

Saudi Arabia earlier had issued emergency alerts for areas including the holy city of Mecca, Jeddah and Yanbu, the main Saudi Red Sea oil port.

Saudi Arabia's top religious authority called on soldiers in the kingdom to be ready to lay down their lives to fight the Houthis until the group is ousted from ⁠power, a statement posted on the Saudi state news agency said.

Thousands of Yemenis displaced by intensified fighting have fled across the Red Sea to Djibouti, with aid agencies “more than overwhelmed” by new arrivals amid the fallout from abrupt cuts to international aid.

More than 120,000 people have been displaced by a surge in fighting along Yemen's coast in recent weeks, according to the United Nations, with more than 3,200 arriving in Djibouti over the past few days.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, told The Independent its displacement facilities in Djibouti are already over capacity as they have received waves of people fleeing bombings across the sea on fishing boats, and later commercial vessels.

Benjamin Netanyahu mounted a forceful defence of Israel's actions in the region at the UN on Thursday, seeking to counter growing international isolation ahead of elections he could lose, as dozens of delegates streamed out.

The walkout underscored the competing pressures facing Netanyahu, who is battling mounting criticism abroad over the Gaza war while campaigning for reelection at home ahead of an 27 October ⁠vote.

The divisions over Israel's conduct were on display as Netanyahu began speaking, with dozens of delegates walking out in protest.

He called them "moral cowards," while supporters in the gallery chanted in Hebrew: "The people of Israel live."

Netanyahu used his address to berate New York mayor Zohran Mamdani for calling him a war criminal, Western European leaders for what he called succumbing to "antisemitic mobs," and to accuse both Qatar and Turkey of spreading lies about Israel.

"You tried to stop me from coming here. You tried. You tried to silence me. Well, you can't silence me. You can't silence the truth," Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, said of Mamdani.

Mamdani campaigned for office on a promise to have Netanyahu arrested for alleged war crimes ​should he ⁠visit the largest US city but later said he determined he lacked the legal authority to do so.

This week, Mamdani described Netanyahu as "the architect of a horrific genocide against Palestinians."