Israel’s ambassador to UN detained after leaving General Assembly to protest Iranian president’s speech

UN security personnel on Tuesday detained Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations shortly after he left the General Assembly Hall to protest a speech by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. 

It was not clear why he was being detained, though he was later released. Fox News Digital has reached out to the UN for comment. 

Before storming out of the General Assembly Hall, Gilad Erdan held up a picture of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman who was brutally murdered last year by the country’s so-called morality police for not properly wearing her hijab. 

Amini’s murder sparked waves of protest across the Islamic Republic, which were met with brutal repression.

Israel's Ambassador to the UN was detained by security personnel Tuesday.  (Fox News Digital)

A caption accompanying Erdan’s photo of Amini read: "Iranian women deserve freedom now!" 

Raisi’s presence at the UN General Assembly drew protesters outside the hall. 

Erdan, who left the General Assembly Hall with the Israeli delegation, said the UN had reached "a new moral low" by giving a platform to Raisi, whom he derided as a "vile murderer." 

"While the butcher of Tehran is speaking at the UN and is being respected by the international community, hundreds of Iranians are protesting outside, shouting and calling on the international community to wake up and help them," Erdan said in a statement. 

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"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 UN. I left the speech to make it clear that the State of Israel stands by the Iranian people. I call on the international community to stop the madness and prevent murderers and anti-Semites from coming and speaking here at the UN."

Raisi’s speech at the UN General Assembly was laden with shots at the United States, whom he blamed for instability in the world. 

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi holds up the Holy Quran as he addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 19, 2023.  (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

"[A]s independent nations increasingly align themselves towards cooperation and convergence, certain powers are attempting to incite conflicts in different regions employing a Cold War mentality, they strive to reconstitute blocks on a global said," Raisi said.

"This regressive endeavor poses a significant threat to the security and prosperity of nations. The Islamic Republic of Iran staunchly maintains that the formation of a new East-West divide should not be permitted to take shape." 

Former President Trump sanctioned Raisi for his role in carrying out the massacre of 5,000 Iranian political prisoners in 1988 and the clerical regime’s slaughter of 1,500 Iranian demonstrators in 2019. 

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Fox News’ Marta Dhanis and Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report. 

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