JERUSALEM

Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, was removed from the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York after staging a one-man protest against Iran’s president.

A video clip circulated on social media showed UN security forces detaining the Israeli envoy and escorting him outside the UN hall.

During Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s speech at the opening of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Erdan raised a banner reading, “Iranian women deserve freedom now.”

“When President Raisi of Iran, the “Butcher of Tehran,” began his speech, I waved a picture of Mahsa Amini, the innocent Iranian woman who was brutally murdered by the regime one year ago for not wearing a hijab properly,” Erdan said in a statement.

“I will never stop fighting for the truth and I will always expose the UN’s moral distortions,” he added.

The death of Amini, a 22-year-old, Iranian girl, in police custody last year had triggered a wave of nationwide protests in Iran.

Sept. 16 marked the first anniversary of Amini’s death.

Israel and Iran have been fiercest foes since the 1979 Iranian revolution and have often accused each other of sabotage activities.

More than 140 world leaders and representatives are taking part in this year’s General Assembly session, which began on Tuesday.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi