Israel’s Netanyahu and the Palestinian Authority’s Abbas to speak at United Nations General Assembly

• What we’re watching: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will address global leaders during today’s morning session of the United Nations General Assembly. Abbas’ remarks will be via video after being denied a visa by the Trump administration.

• Against backdrop of war: Their speeches come as nearly three years have passed since the October 7, 2023 terror attacks and Israel’s subsequent war against Hamas in Gaza, leading to thousands of deaths and regional instability.

• What else has happened: In his UNGA address yesterday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran will not bend to US President Donald Trump and asserted Iranians have been “the victims of terrorism.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Vladimir Putin “patient zero” in his speech, saying the Russian leader spreads war and instability. Meanwhile, Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez said her country will hold elections and transition to a full democracy, but didn’t specify when.

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas to address UN today

Welcome back to our coverage of all the big developments and speeches at the UN General Assembly today.

We’re expecting speeches from both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas today, though his remarks will be delivered remotely because the Trump administration denied visas to Abbas and other Palestinian officials.

Abbas is the fourth speaker in this morning’s session while Netanyahu, who is making a notably short trip without meeting US President Donald Trump, will speak 17th. In total, 35 countries will speak today as we steadily make our way through all the UN member states during this high-level week when the world’s leaders and top diplomats descend on New York.

However, some of the diplomatic focus will today be pulled away from New York toward Washington DC, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping is making his first state visit to the US since 2015, though few major diplomatic breakthroughs are expected.

Key takeaways from Day 2 of the UN General Assembly

Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

The second day of the General Debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly featured more speeches from world leaders, including addresses from Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian .

Here are some highlights:

Venezuela’s acting President Rodríguez said Venezuela will hold elections and transition to a full democracy — but did not specify when — in her address to the UNGA more than eight months after the US captured her predecessor Nicolás Maduro.

Rodríguez thanked US President Donald Trump for “his willingness to resume the path of diplomatic relations and cooperation.”

She also addressed Venezuelans recovering from the devastating earthquakes that shook the country in June, saying: “Let us walk united as one nation that decided, in the wake of pain, to choose hope.”

Iran’s President Pezeshkian told the General Assembly his country will “never bow our head or bend at the knee” to the US.

He said the Iranian people have been “the victims of terrorism,” countering Trump’s speech on Tuesday, where he called the Iranians “terrorists.”

Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US-Iran talks on the sidelines of the UNGA did not yield a breakthrough.

In his UNGA speech, Ukrainian President Zelensky called Russian President Vladimir Putin “patient zero,” saying the more freedom he has to act, “the more dangerous the world becomes for everyone else.”

Zelensky later said a Russian attack on Kyiv Wednesday killed at least two people, urging the international community to increase pressure on Russia to end its more than four-year war.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for reforming the UN Security Council to “ensure fair representation for all regions of the world and to end the veto power of permanent members” in his address.

Earlier, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino also proposed reforming the Security Council to grant permanent membership to countries from Latin America and the Caribbean.

• 我们正在关注：以色列总理内塔尼亚胡和巴勒斯坦权力机构主席阿巴斯将在今天上午的联合国大会上向世界各国领导人发表讲话。由于特朗普政府拒绝向阿巴斯发放签证，他的讲话将以视频形式进行。

• 在战争的背景下：他们的讲话发表之际，距离 2023 年 10 月 7 日的恐怖袭击以及以色列随后对加沙地带哈马斯发动的战争已经过去了近三年，这场战争导致数千人死亡，并造成地区不稳定。

• 其他事件：伊朗总统马苏德·佩泽什基扬昨日在联合国大会上发表讲话，称伊朗不会向美国总统唐纳德·特朗普屈服，并强调伊朗人民一直是“恐怖主义的受害者”。乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基在讲话中称弗拉基米尔·普京为“零号病人”，并表示这位俄罗斯领导人散播战争和动荡。与此同时，委内瑞拉代理总统德尔西·罗德里格斯表示，委内瑞拉将举行选举并向全面民主过渡，但并未具体说明时间。

以色列总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡和巴勒斯坦权力机构主席马哈茂德·阿巴斯今天将在联合国发表讲话。

欢迎回到我们对今天联合国大会所有重大进展和演讲的报道。

我们预计以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡和巴勒斯坦权力机构主席马哈茂德·阿巴斯今天都将发表讲话，不过由于特朗普政府拒绝向阿巴斯和其他巴勒斯坦官员发放签证，他的讲话将以远程方式进行。

阿巴斯是今天上午会议的第四位发言人，而内塔尼亚胡此次行程短暂，并未与美国总统唐纳德·特朗普会面，他将在第17位发言。今天共有35个国家将发言，我们将在本周世界各国领导人和高级外交官齐聚纽约的高级别会议期间，逐步介绍所有联合国成员国的发言情况。

然而，今天一些外交焦点将从纽约转移到华盛顿特区，中国领导人习近平将对美国进行自 2015 年以来的首次国事访问，尽管预计不会取得多少重大外交突破。

联合国大会第二天的主要内容

Timothy A. Clary/法新社/盖蒂图片社

联合国大会第 81 届会议一般性辩论的第二天，世界各国领导人发表了更多讲话，其中包括委内瑞拉代理总统德尔西·罗德里格斯、乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基和伊朗总统马苏德·佩泽什基扬的讲话。

以下是一些亮点：

委内瑞拉代理总统罗德里格斯在联合国大会上发表讲话时表示，委内瑞拉将举行选举并过渡到完全民主政体，但她没有具体说明何时举行选举。此时距离美国逮捕她的前任尼古拉斯·马杜罗已经过去了八个多月。

罗德里格斯感谢美国总统唐纳德·特朗普“愿意恢复外交关系与合作”。

她还向正在从6月份袭击委内瑞拉的毁灭性地震中恢复过来的委内瑞拉人民发表讲话，她说：“让我们团结一致，作为一个在痛苦之后选择希望的国家向前迈进。”

伊朗总统佩泽什基安在联合国大会上表示，他的国家“永远不会向美国低头或屈膝”。

他表示，伊朗人民一直是“恐怖主义的受害者”，以此反驳特朗普周二的讲话，特朗普在讲话中称伊朗人为“恐怖分子”。

另外，美国国务卿马可·卢比奥表示，美伊在联合国大会期间举行的会谈没有取得突破。

乌克兰总统泽连斯基在联合国大会上发表讲话，称俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京为“零号病人”，并表示，普京越是拥有行动自由，“世界对其他人来说就越危险”。

泽连斯基后来表示，俄罗斯周三对基辅的袭击造成至少两人死亡，并敦促国际社会加大对俄罗斯的压力，结束这场持续四年多的战争。

西班牙首相佩德罗·桑切斯在讲话中呼吁改革联合国安理会，以“确保世界所有地区都有公平的代表权，并结束常任理事国的否决权”。

此前，巴拿马总统何塞·劳尔·穆利诺也曾提议改革安理会，给予拉丁美洲和加勒比海国家常任理事国席位。