World leaders gather in New York as 81st UN General Assembly General Debate opens

His Majesty King Abdullah II met with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday, and called on the international community to step up efforts to restore regional stability, and to prioritise diplomacy and dialogue to resolve conflicts.

During the meeting, held on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and attended by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, His Majesty underscored that lasting regional stability is impossible without securing the full, legitimate rights of Palestinians, and establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the basis of the two-state solution.

The King highlighted the gravity of Israel’s actions aimed at annexing land and expanding settlements in the West Bank, as well as its repeated violations of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

For his part, Guterres commended Jordan’s efforts to advance, under the leadership of His Majesty, regional and international peace and stability, praising the Kingdom’s steadfast cooperation with UN agencies.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Director of the Office of His Majesty Alaa Batayneh, and Jordan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Walid Obeidat attended the meeting.

His Majesty King Abdullah II participated in a multilateral meeting on Tuesday at the invitation of United States President Donald Trump, attended by heads of delegation from Arab and Muslim countries, during which His Majesty emphasised the need for the utmost restraint in response to current regional escalations.

During the meeting, held on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the King affirmed Jordan’s commitment to continuing to coordinate closely with the US administration to advance peace and stability in the region.

His Majesty warned of the danger of further escalation and widening of the conflict in the West Bank and Gaza as the Israeli elections approach, underscoring those reckless actions threaten to inflame regional tensions, and undermine US efforts to restore calm.

On the West Bank, the King stressed that the Israeli government’s policies run counter to President Trump’s firm stance against annexation of West Bank territory.

His Majesty reiterated the need to put a stop to Israel’s incursions in Syria, which undermine efforts to restore regional stability, adding that these actions pose a direct threat to the Kingdom’s national security.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Director of the Office of His Majesty Alaa Batayneh, and Jordan’s Ambassador to the United States Dina Kawar attended the meeting.

French President Emmanuel Macron told the UN General Assembly that the legitimate right of Palestinians “to exist” is a prerequisite for security, including that of ‘Israel’.

Macron said those who argue that ‘Israel’s’ security requires violating the sovereignty of neighboring states are, in fact, weakening its security.

“Today and going forward, they are threatening ‘Israel’s’ security,” Macron said in translated remarks.

US President Donald Trump said members of his administration met with the Iranian delegation for about three hours at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, describing the talks as a “very good meeting.”

“It went very well,” Trump told reporters alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “It was a very good meeting.”

Trump said Iran faced two options, which he described as “potential greatness” through a peace deal or “obliteration.”

Asked whether US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner took part in the meeting, Trump did not dispute their participation.

“They had a very good meeting, a very productive meeting,” Trump said, adding that another meeting was scheduled “in the very near future.”

Witkoff, who was seated nearby, said he felt “very good” after the meeting but did not provide details about the discussions.

Trump said reaching a deal would ultimately be in Iran’s interest.

President Donald Trump said US officials met with the Iranian delegation for three hours at the United Nations on Tuesday.

Trump disclosed the meeting while speaking to reporters, but did not provide further details about the discussions.

US President Donald Trump said a federal judge will “probably” rule in favor of CNN, MS NOW and Politico in their lawsuit challenging his decision to restrict their access to the White House.

Asked whether he would allow the outlets back into the White House if the judge ruled against him, Trump said, “Probably will,” while questioning the judge’s fairness. Trump appointed the judge overseeing the case.

Trump defended the restrictions, saying they were justified on national security grounds and accusing the outlets of publishing “false” and “malicious” statements about the war.

“When they make statements about the war, when they make false statements, false, malicious, and they don’t have sources, but they say they do,” Trump said. “It’s very dangerous for our country, and I won’t stand for it.”

CNN has been credentialed by the United Nations but remains barred from White House grounds and from participating in the White House television pool rotation.

atar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani accused ‘Israel’ of continuing what he described as “blatant attacks” against Syria during his address to the UN General Assembly.

He said ‘Israel’ was occupying additional Syrian territory and seeking to add it to the Golan Heights, which it has occupied since 1967.

Sheikh Tamim said ‘Israel’ had offered no justification beyond its assessment of the political system that emerged in Syria.

He added that ‘Israel’ behaves as though it “maintains tutelage of the countries in the region.”

US President Donald Trump tells the United Nations General Assembly that he had to choose whether to "annihilate" Iran if it fails to make a deal to end the Middle East war. 

"Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?" Trump says, while adding that he believed an agreement was possible after US midterm elections in November.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani told the UN General Assembly that the Gulf is experiencing “one of the most dangerous phases” in the region’s history.

He said the crisis was rooted in the absence of a regional system of collective security that respects the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of states.

“Recent events have demonstrated the urgent need for it,” Sheikh Tamim said, warning that without such a system, war can erupt despite countries’ efforts to prevent escalation.

He added that one party can drag neighboring countries into a war “that is not theirs” and target vital assets despite efforts to avert escalation.

The ‘Israeli’ delegation walked out of the UN General Assembly during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s speech on Tuesday.

Erdogan sharply criticized the situation in Gaza during his address, accusing the international community of failing to protect Palestinians and warning that the United Nations has been unable to fulfill its mission of maintaining international peace and security.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said generations of Palestinians will carry the pain and trauma caused by what he described as the genocide of women and children in Gaza.

“Generations of Palestinians will carry the pain and trauma left by the genocide of women and children perpetrated by the Netanyahu government in Gaza,” Lula said during his address to the UN General Assembly.

He also warned that efforts to persecute the International Criminal Court and its members encourage such crimes to go unpunished.

“UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese must not be silenced for telling the truth,” Lula said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the situation in Gaza as “extremely serious,” accusing the international community of failing to respond to what he called a genocidal mindset.

“We are faced with a genocidal mindset that can never get enough of killing,” Erdogan said in translated remarks.

He said no one guided by “humanity, mercy, or compassion” and justice could remain indifferent to the situation.

Erdogan said the crisis demonstrated that the United Nations, established 81 years ago to maintain international peace and security, was no longer able to fulfill that mission, or had been “rendered unable to do so.”

He added that people in Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan and other crisis-hit areas who had placed their hopes in the UN were “deeply disappointed.”

Erdogan’s remarks were met with applause, including from Palestinian officials attending the session. The ‘Israeli’ delegation walked out during his speech.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a security deal on Greenland with the leaders of Denmark and the territory, in a ceremony taking place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

"It's going to be a long-term, fantastic relationship," Trump said at the event in New York.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the UN General Assembly that at least 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza by the ‘Israeli’ military over the past three years, describing the actions as “state terror.”

“The people of Gaza are still searching for their loved ones under the rubble,” Erdogan said. “They are recovering the bodies of their spouses, their children, or their parents.”

Erdogan expressed his sadness over the suffering of children in the Gaza Strip, speaking “as a father and as a grandfather who cherishes his children and grandchildren.”

“I have to say the following from this podium with a heavy heart: today, Gaza is not only the world’s largest graveyard for children, it is also the place with the highest rate of child amputations in the world,” he said.

Erdogan added that Gaza had become “the most inhuman and shameful concentration camp of our time.”

His Majesty King Abdullah II has warned that the international community’s failure to act against 'Israel' has created a “state without restraint,” saying political inaction is a deliberate “choice.”

Addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, King Abdullah II said sanctions, diplomatic isolation and asset freezes had been used in other cases, but measures against Israel have repeatedly failed to move beyond resolutions.

“With Israel, resolutions end where they began: on paper,” he said.

“This is a wilful ‘choice’ and the result is a ‘state without restraint.’ This sense of impunity has reached terrifying levels,” he added.

King Abdullah warned that Israel’s ambitions should not be viewed as limited to Palestine.

“No one in this assembly should assume its ambitions stop at Palestine,” he said. “Today Syria is the warning the international community is choosing not to see.”

Gaza, West Bank ‘two fronts’

The King also rejected the separation of developments in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, describing them as parts of the same strategy.

“To resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the world must abandon some illusions. The first is that Gaza and the West Bank are separate stories. They are not,” he said.

“They are two fronts of the same Israeli strategy. In both, Palestinians are being killed.”

Warning over forced displacement

King Abdullah II described the ongoing developments in the West Bank as a fundamental shift rather than a continuation of previous settlement and violence.

He said the displacement of Palestinians was part of “a single policy to compel an entire population to leave their land.”

“And there is a name for that: forced displacement. And that is a war crime,” he said.

The King also said that at least 300 Palestinian children had been killed during the first 300 days of what he described as a ceasefire in Gaza, while Jordanian field hospitals had also been targeted.

‘What exactly is international law worth?’

King Abdullah II said the international community had spent decades managing rather than confronting the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“For decades, I stood before this assembly and warned of the dangers of leaving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict unresolved,” he said. “But the international community chose to manage the conflict, not confront it.”

He questioned the effectiveness of international law when violations are not addressed.

“What exactly is international law worth, and how can we enforce it if we won’t even call out its violations?” he asked.

He added that 'Israeli' violations had repeatedly been treated as temporary until “temporary became permanent, and permanent became policy.”

King Abdullah said preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state had become a firm Israeli policy, while the situation in Gaza could no longer be dismissed as temporary military measures or simply a consequence of war.

“Accountability begins when we call things for what they are: an attempt to erase Palestinian life and impose a new territorial reality in Gaza,” he said.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II slammed ‘Israel’s’ government during his address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

“This Israeli government understands the power of attention. And lately, it has not liked the attention it’s been getting,” King Abdullah said.

“When confronted with evidence of wrongdoing, rather than change the course, it opts for distraction, discrediting its critics,” he added.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II said Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly that the international community “managed” the Palestinian-‘Israeli’ conflict rather than confronting it

“For decades, I have stood before this Assembly and warned of the dangers of leaving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict unresolved,” King Abdullah II said.

“But the international community chose to manage the conflict, not confront it,” he added.

US President Donald Trump called Tuesday for all nations that are part of the International Criminal Court to quit the body, calling it "out of control."

"The United States is equally opposed to the out-of-control institution known as the International Criminal Court," he said at the UN.

"I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately," he added.

US President Donald Trump told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that a deal between Russia and Ukraine to end the war is possible in the near future.

"We're working very closely with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, and we will get that one done. It's going to happen, I think, more quickly than people understand. They've had it," Trump said in a speech.

President of the United States Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran is “the bully no more” as he defended US military action against the country’s nuclear program during his address to the UN General Assembly.

Trump said he had been “unwavering” in opposing Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, accusing Tehran of refusing US offers for negotiations and economic cooperation in exchange for ending its nuclear program and support for what he described as terrorism.

He also cited Operation Midnight Hammer, saying the US military had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program.

Trump further warned that Iran had developed a large missile and drone arsenal, including a missile capable of reaching Europe, and said Tehran had sought to pursue a nuclear weapon behind its conventional missile capabilities.