Netanyahu poised to ‘attack Abbas’ lies’ in UN speech
„The Assad regime is alive thanks to Iran, and now it is getting assistance from Russia,” PM Benjamin Netanyahu tells reporters a day before his U.N. General Assembly address • Netanyahu to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday.
Shlomo Cesana
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a past U.N. General Assembly address | 
„The Assad regime is alive thanks to Iran, and now it is getting assistance from Russia,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, a day before he was set to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
Netanyahu’s speech is scheduled to start around 12:00 p.m. New York time (7 p.m. Israel time) on Thursday.
Speaking with Israeli reporters on Wednesday, the prime minister revealed little of what the content of the speech will be. The main topics are expected to be recent developments in Syria and the nuclear deal that world powers and Iran reached in July.
„In Syria, Iran is being presented as part of the solution, when in fact it itself is the problem,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday. „Iran’s support for [Syrian President Bashar] Assad is enormous. There would be no Assad regime today without Iran. The Iranian commander in Syria is Ghasem Soleimani [the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force] and his deputy is Hassan Nasrallah [the leader of Hezbollah]. They are working to keep Assad in power. Recently, they have been reinforced by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. The problem in the Middle East now is Iran’s massive onslaught in the region.
„In my U.N. speech, I will put these things on the table. In the speeches I’ve heard so far at the U.N., there has been no real reference to two issues: Iran’s massive aggression in the Middle East and its increasing aggressiveness toward Israel.”
An official close to Netanyahu said on Wednesday, „The prime minister will deliver a resolute speech in which he will attack the campaign of incitement and lies being conducted by [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas. He will also attack international hypocrisy and clarify what Israel’s policies are regarding the aftermath of the Iran nuclear deal and the developing situation in Syria.”
After his speech on Thursday, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. On Friday, the prime minister will meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Netanyahu will depart the U.S. on Saturday night and arrive back in Israel on Sunda
