Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei mocked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday following the mass walkout of diplomats at the start of his speech at the UN General Assembly.
“Today, the evil Zionist regime is the most despised and isolated regime in the world,” he wrote on X, alongside a photo showing Netanyahu addressing a largely empty General Assembly.
Netanyahu spoke for 41 minutes at the annual UN gathering, but international coverage focused less on his remarks and more on the dramatic protest that came just before. Dozens of delegates left the hall in unison as the Israeli leader prepared to speak.
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Ali Khamenei, UN General Assembly in New York
(Photo: Iranian Leader's Press Office/Getty Images/ Angela Weiss/ AFP )
On CNN, Netanyahu’s address once again claimed the lead headline Saturday morning, but the coverage was dominated by video footage of representatives leaving the hall in protest. The report pointed out that the prime minister promised to “finish the job” of eliminating Hamas in Gaza, yet the visual of departing envoys overshadowed the substance of his message.
The New York Times said Netanyahu “delivered a defiant address after dozens walked out,” adding details about anti-Netanyahu protests outside the UN headquarters and the barcode affixed to his suit jacket, which critics linked to a protest website.
The Guardian paired its coverage with a looping video clip showing the moment the ambassadors left, while stressing Netanyahu’s vow to “finish the job” against Hamas. The Daily Mail did not feature the speech as prominently on its homepage but highlighted the walkout alongside Netanyahu’s remark that recognition of Palestine by Western countries proved that “killing Jews pays.”