Netanyahu at the UN: There is no place in Iran that Israel's 'outstretched hand' cannot reach

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, stated that there is 'no place' in Iran that Israel's 'outstretched hand' cannot reach, and this applies to the entire Middle East. This speech was delivered on Friday, October 6, coinciding with Israeli attacks on Lebanon targeting Hezbollah and just moments before a heavy airstrike on southern Beirut, the main command center of Hezbollah. Hezbollah is a militia group and also a political party that controls a large part of southern Lebanon. In his address, Netanyahu attributed many of the Middle East's problems to the Iranian government. He warned Iranian officials, whom he referred to as 'the tyrants of Tehran,' saying, 'If you attack us, we will attack you.' Netanyahu also announced that Israel is defending itself against Tehran on 'seven fronts.' He emphasized that Israel is doing everything it can to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and called for the UN Security Council to reinstate sanctions against Iran. Images and reports indicate that during Netanyahu's speech, several diplomats and officials from various countries left the hall, including representatives from Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. At the beginning of the speech, when Netanyahu took the podium, there was a lot of commotion from attendees, prompting the session chair to loudly request order. Some attendees also cheered him on. Barak Ravid, a reporter for Axios, shared a video showing that 'dozens of diplomats' left the UN General Assembly when Netanyahu entered to speak. CNN also reported that 'a large number' of country representatives left the hall at the start of Netanyahu's speech. Meanwhile, two speakers who spoke before Netanyahu explicitly criticized Israel's actions. One of them was Robert Golob, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, who concluded his speech by pounding his fist on the podium, saying, 'Mr. Netanyahu, stop this war right now!' Shahbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, also spoke just before Netanyahu and referred to the Gaza war as not just a conflict, calling it a 'systematic massacre of innocent Palestinian people' while pounding his fist on the podium. His remarks were met with applause from the audience. In another part of his speech, Netanyahu stated that Israel would continue to weaken Hezbollah to achieve its goals along the Lebanese border. He noted that with the escalation of the war, the shadow of a full-scale war has fallen over the region, and any hope for a ceasefire has vanished. The Israeli Prime Minister also stated that his government would no longer tolerate daily missile attacks from this region and has the right to eliminate these threats to bring Israeli citizens back to their homes. 'So we are doing exactly that... we will continue to weaken Hezbollah to achieve our goals.' He then added, 'Just imagine if terrorists turned El Paso and San Diego into ghost towns, how long would the U.S. government tolerate that?' He continued, 'But Israel has been enduring this unbearable situation for almost a year. And I am here today to say: Enough!' Netanyahu mentioned that he had not intended to attend the UN General Assembly this year because his country is at war, but after hearing many lies and accusations against his country from speakers at this podium, he decided to come and clarify the truth. At the end of his speech, Netanyahu referred to the UN as a 'dark house' with an anti-Israeli stance. He said, 'The Palestinians know that in this anti-Jewish swamp, there is an automatic majority willing to demonize Israel for anything.' He continued, 'In this anti-Israeli atmosphere, where false beliefs prevail, any baseless accusation can easily be accepted by the majority.'