Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations urged the Iranian people to seize what he described as a historic opportunity to bring down the Islamic Republic and what he described as its "Shi'ite supremacist empire".
“People of Iran, do not miss this historic opportunity. Act now. The people of Israel stand with you,” Danny Danon, speaking in strained Persian, said during a Security Council meeting on Wednesday in remarks aimed at Iran's people.
His speech is part of Israel’s effort to spotlight the threat it says its arch-enemy the Islamic Republic poses to the Middle East and comes after Tehran's key Arab ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria was toppled this month by hardline Sunni insurgents.
“The opportunity to end Iran’s ambitions to create a Shi'ite supremacist empire is within reach,” framing the Islamic Republic as a sectarian menace to global stability.
His rhetoric closely aligns with that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been ramping up his criticism of Iran in recent weeks. Netanyahu, who has long voiced concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its regional influence, framed the Islamic Republic as the head of a broader destabilizing axis.
“A year ago, I said we'd change the face of the Mideast, and we're indeed doing so. Syria is not the same Syria. Lebanon is not the same Lebanon. Gaza is not the same Gaza. And the head of the axis, Iran, is not the same Iran," Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday. "It has also felt the might of our arms,” he added, underscoring Israel’s military role in reshaping the region.
At the same time Tehran faces mounting external pressure with historic setbacks to its armed allies in Lebanon and Syria, days-long nationwide shutdowns due to gas and electricity shortages underscore domestic woes.
This riposte by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei came after the UNGA adopted the resolution which criticized the Islamic Republics treatment of prisoners, ethnic and religious minorities and women.
“The proponents of the anti-Iran resolution, including the Zionist regime, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, are major violators of human rights," Baghaei said. "This is a source of shame, and the Canadian officials who initiate such actions against our country every year are urged to focus on reforming their actions both inside and outside their country instead of accusing others.”
The resolution, which passed with 80 votes in favor and 27 against, criticized the Iranian government’s unlawful use of the death penalty, arbitrary arrests, torture and its persistent suppression of peaceful protests.
It also condemned the Islamic Republic for discrimination against women, ethnic and religious minorities and minors.
Human rights advocates have expressed concern over these abuses and called Tehran’s actions a tool of political repression.
The UNGA called for an immediate halt to executions, many of which are carried out based on forced confessions extracted under torture and without the benefit of fair trials.
In particular, the resolution singles out the government’s pattern of executing political prisoners as evidence of its commitment to silencing dissent.
This marks a continuation of the crackdown on political opposition which has seen approximately 625 executions since the inauguration of Iran’s current president Masoud Pezeshkian in late July, including 22 women.
The resolution also underscored the Iranian government’s ongoing violations of women’s rights, pointing to restrictive laws that discriminate against females.
"(The UNGA) strongly urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of systemic discrimination and violence against women and girls, in public and private life," the resolution read.
"(It) urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to cease the widespread and systematic use of arbitrary arrests and detention ... (and) calls upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to release women human rights defenders imprisoned for exercising their rights."
The resolution further called for the suspension of all death sentences in Iran.
Baghaei defended his government’s actions and labeled the international accusations “baseless and politically motivated.”
