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.

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.

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 .

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.