Netanyahu Blasts Iran & al-Qaeda in U.N. Speech: ‘The Medieval Forces of Radical Islam…Want to End the Modern World’

This afternoon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly, spending the bulk of his time warning the world against a nuclear-equipped Iran. He challenged global powers to draw a “red line…before Iran completes the second stage of nuclear enrichment to make a nuclear bomb,” and spoke fervently against radical Islam.

While Iran was the overarching focus, Netanyahu opened the speech by proclaiming that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel — a fact that the Obama administration has come under fire by critics for continuously failing to acknowledge. But rather than poking at his Western ally, Netanyahu used the opportunity to deride the Iranian regime, which has repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, uses a chart as he speaks about the Iranian nuclear program during the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly September 27, 2012 at UN headquarters in New York.Credit: AFP/Getty Images

“I say that to all those who proclaim that the Jewish state has no roots in our region and that it will soon disappear,” he said of the Jerusalem mention, going on to herald his nation’s ability to survive the odds. ”The people of Israel live on.”

The prime minister staked claim to Israel’s placement in the Middle East and said that “the Jewish people have come home” and that they “will never be uprooted again.” Similar to what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did with his own country on Wednesday, Netanyahu praised Israel’s successes in technology, medicine, agriculture and other spheres, while taking aim at more draconian nations.

READ MORE