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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing the UN General Assembly on September 26, 2025, holds up a map titled “The Curse” that highlights Syria, Iraq and Iran.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, said that Israel has terminated many of its foes in the Middle East and warned Iraqi militias that their leaders will also be "gone" if they attack Israel. In response, Iraq’s foreign minister said Netanyahu’s remarks are “unacceptable.”
“Half the Houthi leadership in Yemen - gone. Yahya Sinwar in Gaza - gone. Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon - gone. The Assad regime in Syria - gone. Those militias in Iraq are still deterred. Their leaders, if they attack Israel, will also be gone. And for Iran’s top military commanders and its top atomic bomb scientists, well, they are gone too,” Netanyahu said in his speech.
There are militia groups that are part of Iraq’s national forces but have close ties to Iran. Tehran is believed to have used these proxy groups to target US and Israeli interests in the past. Washington has sanctioned several of these groups and has taken measures in an attempt to limit Tehran’s influence on Baghdad, including terminating a sanctions waiver that allowed Iraq to buy Iranian electricity for years.
Some of these militia groups carried out drone attacks against Israel in the beginning of its war with Hamas.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein condemned Netanyahu’s remarks.
"Netanyahu's statements are unacceptable. An attack on any Iraqi is an attack on Iraq,” he told reporters at a press conference in New York.
During his speech at the UN, Netanyahu also held up a map titled “The Curse” that highlighted Syria, Iraq and Iran.
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