Protests Near UN Headquarters against Violations in Iran

The UN headquarters in New York is shown in this photo taken 12 August 2003. (Photo credit: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)
The UN headquarters in New York is shown in this photo taken 12 August 2003. (Photo credit: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)
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Protests Near UN Headquarters against Violations in Iran

The UN headquarters in New York is shown in this photo taken 12 August 2003. (Photo credit: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)
The UN headquarters in New York is shown in this photo taken 12 August 2003. (Photo credit: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)

Human rights organizations have organized a protest near the United Nations headquarters in New York to denounce Iran's aggressive human rights practices, calling on the international community to support their efforts by imposing sanctions on Tehran.

As New York City shivered under sub-zero temperatures, hundreds of Arabs, Iranians and Americans joined the rally organized by the Arab-American International Center for Human Rights and the US Organization for Justice and Peace.

Demonstrators raised banners demanding the punishment of the Iranian regime for its human rights violations and absurd behavior in Middle Eastern countries.

The protest was aimed at putting the spotlight on “the violations of the Iranian regime and its support for terrorism,” Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab-American Center for Human Rights Meshary al-Aida told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Aida pointed out that the protest was held under the slogan “Stop the terror of the Iranian regime, its violations of human rights and its intervention in the affairs of countries.”

It coincided with global celebrations of the International Day of Human Rights, Aida said, noting that the rally aimed to draw the attention of the international community and the United States to the crimes of terrorism and violations carried out by the Iranian regime in Iran and abroad.

During the rally a magazine was distributed to reveal the crimes of Iranian terrorism around the world and its violations and intervention in the Middle East and neighboring countries, Aida added.

He explained that the magazine included the number of executions carried out by Iran against men, women and children over the past 10 years and the names of some militias and armed terrorist groups that were founded and supported by Iran and were the reason behind the displacement and killing of thousands of women, children and helpless people in Syria and Yemen.

In this context, the US Foundation for Defense of Democracies issued a statement on Wednesday urging US President Donald Trump to support UN efforts in its celebrations on World Human Rights Day by imposing additional sanctions on the Iranian regime.



Trump Vetoed Israeli Plan to Kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, US Officials Say

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei waves during the 36th anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 revolution, Khomeini, at Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran, Iran June 4, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei waves during the 36th anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 revolution, Khomeini, at Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran, Iran June 4, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
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Trump Vetoed Israeli Plan to Kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, US Officials Say

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei waves during the 36th anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 revolution, Khomeini, at Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran, Iran June 4, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei waves during the 36th anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 revolution, Khomeini, at Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran, Iran June 4, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters

President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday.

"Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do, we're not even talking about going after the political leadership," said one of the sources, a senior US administration official.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said top US officials have been in constant communications with Israeli officials in the days since Israel launched a massive attack on Iran in a bid to halt its nuclear program.

They said the Israelis reported that they had an opportunity to kill the top Iranian leader, but Trump waved them off of the plan.

The officials would not say whether Trump himself delivered the message. But Trump has been in frequent communications with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

When asked about Reuters report, Netanyahu, in an interview on Sunday with Fox News Channel's "Special Report With Bret Baier," said: "There's so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I'm not going to get into that."

"But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we'll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States," Netanyahu said.

Trump has been holding out hope for a resumption of US-Iranian negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program. Talks that had been scheduled for Sunday in Oman were canceled as a result of the strikes.

Trump told Reuters on Friday that "we knew everything" about the Israeli strikes.