Israeli ambassador, Gilad Erdan, was detained at the UN General Assembly by security after he protested the speech of Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi.
In an effort to remind the attendees opting to hear the “Butcher of Tehran’s” speech of his mass murders of Iranian journalists and women, Erdan held up a sign of the slain Mahsa Amini that read “IRANIAN WOMEN DESERVE FREEDOM NOW,” before abruptly exiting the hall.
Protests broke out across Iran last weekend to mark the anniversary of Amini's death.
Regarding his protest, he posted to X:
“New moral stain for the UN
When President Raisi of Iran, the “Butcher of Tehran,” began his speech, I waved a picture of Mahsa Amini, the innocent Iranian woman who was brutally murdered by the regime one year ago for not wearing a hijab “properly.”
Meanwhile, outside the UN hundreds of Iranians were protesting, begging for help from the international community. I will never stop fighting for the truth and I will always expose the UN’s moral distortions.
Those who roll out the red carpet for murderers and antisemites must be held accountable for their actions!”
He condemned the UN and delegates in the audience in a scathing statement: “It is a disgrace that member states stay to listen to a mass murderer. It should not be possible for a murderer with blood on his hands to receive a platform here at the U.N.”
He explained that he “left the speech to make it clear that the State of Israel stands by the Iranian people.”
He then called on “the international community to stop the madness and prevent murderers and anti-Semites from coming and speaking here at the U.N."
Edran was detained by UN officials shortly after he left the hall, although an exact reason was not given by security. He was later released and gave a statement to Fox News:
“The U.N.'s lost moral compass was on full display today. Being detained for standing with the Iranian people and protesting a vile mass murderer who was given an audience on the global stage is utterly disgraceful. It is yet another example of the strong bias Israel suffers at the U.N. Other ambassadors have previously held signs for ideological reasons, including in recent sessions on the war in Ukraine, with no repercussions. I will not be deterred and will always stand up for what is right and just."
"The U.N. listens to [Raisi] carefully while so many people are being murdered, killed, suffer because of him and his ruthless regime.”
"So I decided to show him and remind everyone the struggle of the Iranian women, and also to remind the world and the Iranian people that they are not our enemies, that the people of Israel support and stand in solidarity with them, whatever their regime is telling them and lying to them about Israel," he continued. "This is not the truth. Israel is standing with the people of Iran, and we want to live in peace with the people of Iran. But their regime is the one who is preventing it and causing them to suffer so much."
Before Erdan entered the Assembly, he made clear what his intentions would be in attending Raisi’s speech by posting a video to X with the caption:
“While the UN rolls out the red carpet for the Butcher of Tehran, President Raisi, Iranians in New York are here to show the true face of the Ayatollah regime. The leaders in Iran only seek to oppress, starve, and murder their own people, while exporting terror and racing toward nuclear weapons.
The world must wake up and listen to the voices of innocent Iranians! The Ayatollah regime must be held accountable for their crimes and pay the price!
The people of Israel stand with the people of Iran.
#IsraelisLoveIranians.”
