Netanyahu to slam Mamdani and anti-Israel sanctions, reveal Iran intel in UN speech overshadowed by security concerns

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Israel Wednesday evening for New York City to deliver his speech at the UN General Assembly.

This year will contrast sharply with previous visits in its unusually short length, though reportedly not in the planned content of Netanyahu’s speech, which will focus on the Iranian regime and criticize those seeking to sanction Israel, including the city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

The prime minister has often exploited this stage to deliver pointed messages to various enemies, while using his infamous props to grab the world’s attention.

However, this year’s visit is overshadowed by security concerns, which could be exacerbated by the recent public sparring between Netanyahu and Mamdani. In addition, reported tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump, along with the upcoming Jewish holidays, have contributed to making the visit his shortest ever.

ממדאני - אני בא לאו״ם כדי להילחם על האמת של החיילים הגיבורים שלנו - וכדי לחשוף את האמת עליך! pic.twitter.com/141PPbSFHm

— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 22, 2026

Netanyahu is set to arrive early Thursday, deliver his speech, and then fly back in the evening – without meeting Trump, senior U.S. officials, or any major Western leader.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) stated he will meet “the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama, and Ethiopia, the Vice President of Colombia, and the prime ministers of Greece, Slovenia, and Papua New Guinea.”

It noted that “many” other world leaders requested a meeting but “due to a tight schedule and the need to return before the onset of Sukkot, the Prime Minister was only able to accommodate some of them.”

According to Channel 12 News, PMO sources said the main reason for the short duration is security-related, amid concerns about an attempt to harm him during his stay in New York.

The U.S. Secret Service has been unusually involved in preparations for the trip, a source told The Jerusalem Post, adding that Netanyahu would land at Newark Airport in New Jersey instead of JFK Airport in Queens, to reduce the travel distance to Manhattan.

When Christiane Amanpour asked @NYCMayor Mamdani whether his talk of arresting Israel's Prime Minister had added to the fears of NY's Jewish community, he doubled down. Netanyahu, he said, is "a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people."

In… pic.twitter.com/CVMvngqXRf

— Trisha Posner (@trishaposner) September 23, 2026

The high tension surrounding the trip was also highlighted by an NBC report on Wednesday that three men emerged from sewers near the hotel where Netanyahu is planning to stay.

Police said this was likely connected to a recent series of similar incidents, “but out of an abundance of caution given the UN General Assembly and the sensitivity of the location, the NYPD is conducting additional security sweeps with our federal partners.”

New York Police Department officials said previously that there are no credible threats tied to the General Assembly, noting that security was heightened around the event. Officials estimated in August that over 60 police officers could be involved in security arrangements surrounding Netanyahu, in addition to federal, diplomatic, and Israeli security personnel.

Mayor Mamdani has previously asserted that he believes “Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He is a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.”

He later acknowledged that “we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant.” But on Monday, he again called Netanyahu a “war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people,” prompting him to film a response video.

“Shame on you, Mr. Mamdani,” Netanyahu charged, “Shame on you for supporting the Hamas terrorist monsters who butchered our people. Shame on you for inciting riots against New York Jews. I’m coming to the UN. I’m going to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers, and I’ve got to tell the truth about you.”

Former Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren told Reuters that Netanyahu will “not really” address the UN but rather “the ​Israeli public” in what he expects to resemble a “campaign speech.”

“Maybe he's thinking, ‘If I can attack Mamdani and attack the Iranians, somebody who was wavering between ​voting for me and voting for (Gadi) Eisenkot may decide to vote for me,’" explained.

A senior official close to Netanyahu said that the “focus in the speech will be on Iran,” and that he will reveal new information about Iran’s nuclear efforts and attempts to restore its capabilities.

He is also expected to slam European sanctions against Israel, contrasting them with the background of ongoing terror attacks against Israelis in Judea and Samaria. Earlier this week, an Israeli father of six was shot dead just ahead of Yom Kippur, while Neria Leiter, the son of Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., was seriously wounded in another attack on Wednesday.

Netanyahu visited the Leiter family in the hospital just before departing for the U.S., urging the public to pray for Neria’s recovery.

Alongside the UNGA, Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate launched a campaign with five hundred billboards, dozens of trucks, and a sweeping digital campaign to highlight “the threat posed by Iran's terrorist regime and the partnership between Israel and the US in the struggle against the Axis of Evil.”

The directorate’s head, Tzipi Hotovely, said that “Against the backdrop of incitement and anti-Israel messaging promoted by our adversaries, the UN General Assembly session is an opportunity to raise awareness of the hypocrisy and cynicism prevalent against us in the corridors of the UN us, and of the universal message advanced jointly by the US and Israel in the just and ongoing campaign against Iran and its proxies, which threaten the entire free world with terrorism.”