DOMINANT ANGLE
Jerusalem is particularly noting the absence: while Washington threatens to "annihilate" Iran and then re-engages with Tehran, Netanyahu will have neither a tête-à-tête with Trump nor a Texas stop with Elon Musk at the UN.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Netanyahu is set to arrive Thursday morning in New York, speak at the General Assembly around 2 pm local time (9 pm in Israel) and leave the same day, likely without spending the night in the United States.
- 02
The Texas leg with Elon Musk, including a possible visit to SpaceX facilities, was cancelled over the weekend after an advance Israeli team was sent to the location.
- 03
According to Haaretz, Trump's speech to the General Assembly on Tuesday comes amid an "American-Iranian war" and growing instability in the Middle East, which is expected to shape his remarks and meetings with regional leaders.
ANALYSIS
Jérusalem, September 23, 2026. Before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Donald Trump stated that it would be up to him to decide whether to "annihilate" Iran if no agreement is reached to end the war in the Middle East, before announcing, a few minutes later, the resumption of dialogue with Tehran. According to him, American and Iranian representatives, led on the American side by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, held a three-hour meeting in New York that he described as "very good" and "very productive", with another session being prepared. An agreement, he estimated, could come after the American mid-term elections. According to Haaretz, this speech comes in the context of an "American-Israeli war against Iran" and growing instability in the Middle East, which should mark Trump's remarks as well as his meetings with regional leaders.
Two days later, on Thursday, it was Benjamin Netanyahu's turn to address the General Assembly, but in a format reduced to a minimum. According to the Jerusalem Post, the Prime Minister is expected to arrive in New York on Thursday morning, speak around 2 pm local time (9 pm in Israel), and then return to Israel the same day, probably without spending a night on American soil. "The program has undergone several changes in recent days," the newspaper notes: Netanyahu was initially supposed to arrive on Wednesday, with an additional stop in Texas where a meeting with Elon Musk, along with a possible visit to SpaceX facilities, had been planned. An advanced Israeli team had already traveled to the location to prepare for this visit when, over the weekend, they learned of its cancellation.
No meeting with Donald Trump is also planned, despite the efforts of Netanyahu's advisors to organize one: a senior American official indicated that the Israeli Prime Minister was not among the leaders that Trump planned to receive. The Texas stop also posed logistical complications, as the "Wing of Zion" plane cannot fly from Israel to Texas without a refueling stop, without any indication that this constraint motivated the cancellation.
While Washington oscillates between the threat to "annihilate" Iran and the relaunch of a diplomatic channel with Tehran, the Israeli presence at the UN this week is thus reduced to a solo round trip, without a symbolic stop or tête-à-tête with the American President.
