New York: In a closely watched address at the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented two maps of the region - one was called 'The Blessing", which included countries Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and even India painted in green. The other map was labelled as "The Curse" showing Syria, Iraq, Iran and Yemen painted in black.
"This is the map I presented her last year. It's a map of a blessing. It shows Israel and its Arab partners forming a land bridge connecting Asia and Europe between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Across this bridge we will lay rail lines, energy pipelines, fiber optic cables, and this will serve the betterment of two billion people," he said during his speech at the UN General Assembly.
"Look at the second map. It's a map of a curse. It's a map of an arc of terror that Iran has created and imposed from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean. Iran's malignant arc has shut down international waterways. It cuts off trade. It destroys millions. Destroys nations from within and inflicts misery on millions," Netanyahu said while showing off the second map. Both the maps did not include any mention of Palestine, in black or green.
Netanyahu warns Iran and Hezbollah
The Israeli PM squarely blamed Iran for the conflict unfolding in the Middle East and vowed to continue battling the Lebanese Hezbollah and defeat Hamas in the Gaza Strip until “total victory.” He also promised to "degrade Hezbollah until all our objectives are met" while asserting Israel's right to facilitate the return of its citizens to their homes. Netanyahu was greeted with an exodus of several delegations but also received resounding applause from Israel's supporters.
He also warned “tyrants of Iran” that Israel will hit back if Tehran does so. “There is no place in Iran where the long arm of Israel cannot reach,” he said in a stern message. "Israel will win this battle. We will win this battle because we don't have a choice. After generations in which our people were slaughtered, were mercilessly butchered, and no one raised a finger in our defence. We now have a state, a brave army and we are defending ourselves," Netanyahu added.
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He called on the world to support to "join Israel" in stopping Iran's nuclear weapons program. He urged the UN Security Council to impose "snapback" sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program. Netanyahu said, "I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran. If you strike us, we will strike you. There is no place in Iran where the long arm of Israel cannot reach. And that is true for the entire Middle East."
Israel targets Hezbollah chief
This came as Israel stepped up its airstrikes on Lebanon as a wave of air raids hit Beirut, unleashing attacks on the Iran-backed militant outfit Hezbollah’s headquarters that apparently targeted its head Hassan Nasrallah. The fate of Nasrallah, leader of the Iran-backed group for 32 years, remains unclear, with Hezbollah yet to issue any statement on his status as Israel continued airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs and other areas of Lebanon on Saturday.
Earlier, a source close to Hezbollah told Reuters that Nasrallah was alive. Iran's Tasnim news agency also reported he was safe. A senior Iranian security official told Reuters that Tehran was checking his status. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said about 10 projectiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory and that some had been intercepted.
(with agency input)
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