An Iranian diplomat took the floor after the scheduled UN General Assembly speeches Sept. 29 and read a statement criticizing the address that had been made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu, who spent a considerable part of his speech warning about the dangers of the Iranian government and its ambitions, particularly its nuclear program, urged the world to not forget Iran as it builds a coalition to fight against the threat of the Islamic State.

The statement from the Iranian UN mission, read by counselor Javad Safaei, called Netanyahu’s speech a “senseless rhetorical statement.” In regard to the 50-day Israeli-Gaza war, a war in which “all international norms and laws were blatantly flouted,” Netanyahu “tried in vain to wash his hands of the most recent bloodbath in Gaza,” the statement read.

The statement rejected how Netanyahu attempted to associate various Islamist movements with IS and said that he was promoting “Iranphobia and Islamophobia” and said that while Israel has its own nuclear weapons program, it accuses Iran of trying to acquire nuclear weapons. The statement said that Netanyahu was simply attempting to “sabotage and disrupt” Iran’s attempts to negotiate about its nuclear program.

A number of conservative Iranian media also criticized Netanyahu’s comments, although a great deal of their coverage involved loose translations of English-language media critical of Netanyahu’s speech.