Iran’s delegation walked out of the United Nations General Assembly as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his speech, leaving a portrait of killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani at its desk.
As Netanyahu walked to the podium Thursday, the picture of Soleimani, former commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, was still prominently displayed.
Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport in January 2020. The strike was ordered by then-President Donald Trump, which dramatically increased tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The Iranian walkout came as dozens of other delegates filed out of the chamber as Netanyahu began to speak. Some Israeli delegates booed and jeered, while others stood and applauded, The Associated Press reports.
Later, Netanyahu turned to the departing, “If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left this hall, please do so now.”
Netanyahu harshly criticised Iran’s leadership in his speech, calling it a “murderous dictatorship” and defending Israeli and US military attack on Tehran.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meanwhile had addressed the General Assembly on Wednesday calling for diplomacy and criticising the US and Israeli policy toward Iran.
