Several country delegations walked out of the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, hall on Thursday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address, during which he defended Israel’s military strikes against Iran.
Netanyahu spoke at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York against the backdrop of international criticism of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and its wider actions across the Middle East.
Reports from the session said several delegations left the hall as he took the podium, while people in the public gallery applauded and chanted in support of the Israeli leader.
The Israeli prime minister continued with his address despite the walkout, devoting a significant portion of his speech to defending the decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“Devastating Iran’s nuclear facilities was hard. It was very hard to do. But for me, it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make as prime minister,” Netanyahu said.
“Because if we hadn’t done it, we’d all be dead,” he added.
Netanyahu recalled his longstanding pledge to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, saying Israel had fulfilled that commitment through its military action against Tehran.
“14 years ago, I vowed to prevent Iran’s murderous dictatorship from developing atomic bombs. That’s exactly what we did,” he said.
He also argued that Israel’s military action had benefited countries beyond its own borders, including some of those whose representatives had left the assembly.
“Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall,” Netanyahu said.
According to Netanyahu, some foreign leaders had privately expressed appreciation for Israel’s destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“In fact, I want you to know that many of their leaders even thank us privately for taking out Iran’s nukes,” he said.
His appearance at the UN came amid continued diplomatic pressure and criticism over Israel’s war in Gaza and its military operations elsewhere in the region. Reuters had reported ahead of the address that Netanyahu’s visit to New York was unusually brief and that he had no planned meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Iran has consistently rejected allegations that it is pursuing nuclear weapons, maintaining that its nuclear programme is intended for peaceful purposes. Tehran has also rejected Israel’s justification for the military strikes.
Netanyahu, however, has maintained that military action was necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, making the issue a central part of his defence of Israel’s actions before the UN General Assembly.