As Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered his first address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, accusing the United States and Israel of ‘savage aggression,’ thousands of Iranian Americans and dissidents massed outside the building to denounce what they called the hypocrisy of the UN for giving Tehran’s rulers a platform.

Inside the hall, Pezeshkian claimed June’s U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities amounted to a ‘grave betrayal of diplomacy’ and a violation of international law. He said the attacks killed civilians, scientists and intellectuals, while insisting Iran ‘never sought weapons of mass destruction.’

Outside the U.N., however, the message was very different. Protesters waving Iranian flags and holding placards declared that Pezeshkian did not represent the Iranian people.

Mitra Samani, a former political prisoner held for four years in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison in the early 1980s, traveled from Los Angeles to attend. ‘We are here to say that the seat in the U.N. doesn’t belong to those murderous regime agents. It belongs to the people of Iran and their representatives, and we believe that is the National Council of Resistance of Iran,’ she told Fox News Digital.

Samani said she has attended the rally every year for three decades. ‘I promised myself when I was released from that dungeon that I would be the voice of my friends that I lost. That’s why I’m here every year.’

Nasser Sharif, chair of the Iranian American Community of California, said thousands came from 40 states to participate in the protest. ‘We’re here to support the Iranian Resistance, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and to condemn the regime for its crimes against humanity,’ Sharif told Fox News Digital.

He added that the movement backs the plan for a free, secular, democratic republic in Iran: ‘We are asking the U.S. administration to put more pressure on the regime and side with the Iranian people and their desire for democratic change.’

Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the U.S. office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, called the rally ‘an impressive show of force.’

‘Thousands of protesters supported the overthrow of the Iranian regime by the Iranian people, with no need for foreign boots on the ground or providing money and arms,’ he said.

Jafarzadeh also criticized the UN for giving Tehran a platform despite repeated condemnations of its human rights record. ‘It is appalling to see the world’s leading executioner play any role in any U.N. body dealing with human rights. It is like appointing a serial killer as a judge to rule on his own murders.’

Richard Goldberg, senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), said the UN’s willingness to elevate Iran reflects ‘an alternative reality.’

‘The U.N. is a lot like the Netflix show ‘Stranger Things.’ You walk through the door, the characters are the same, but it’s a horrifying alternative reality where a tyrannical, women-oppressing, nuclear-weapons-pursuing regime can serve as a leader of human rights, women’s rights and nuclear nonproliferation organizations,’ Goldberg said.

He added that Pezeshkian arrived in New York ‘with nothing — no popular support at home and no nuclear weapons program to scare the rest of the world,’ while facing looming U.N. sanctions that could destabilize Iran’s economy.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD’s Iran program, said the speech was ‘short but not sweet.’

‘Sadly, these things have come to be expected from the U.N. when it comes to Iran. While the fact-finding mission on Iran languishes due to lack of funding and staff, the regime continues to be offered a platform to spew its invective and propaganda,’ he told Fox News Digital.

Taleblu highlighted the irony of Iran’s leadership roles in international organizations: ‘Can there be something more ironic than the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has long been a proliferator and seeking a nuclear weapon, being a vice president of the IAEA?’

He added that Pezeshkian’s remarks were overshadowed by recent comments from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. ‘While Pezeshkian and [Iranian negotiator Abbas] Araghchi were in NYC trying to stall and prevent SnapBack, Khamenei did not mince words when it came to no negotiations with America. ‘Supreme Leader’ is a title meant to be taken rather literally after all.’

U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday that Washington was talking to Iran and that the U.S. had a ‘desire’ to realize a permanent solution to the dispute. But Iran’s Foreign Ministry told Reuters Thursday that the U.S. saying it wanted a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear program was a ‘deception.’

‘America’s claim of a desire for diplomacy is nothing but deception and blatant contradiction; one cannot simultaneously bomb a country while engaging in diplomatic negotiations and speak of diplomacy,’ ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.

A Trump administration official was physically assaulted by a ‘deranged leftist’ inside the United Nations Thursday afternoon during the gathering of the UN General Assembly, Fox News Digital has learned.

An official working in international relations for the Department of Health and Human Services was in New York City serving in a support role for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the department’s leadership team at UNGA.

‘An HHS official was followed into a bathroom, recorded, physically assaulted and verbally accosted by a deranged leftist at the UN who somehow entered the venue past multiple layers of security,’ White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital. ‘Thankfully, the official is safe, and the lunatic was arrested, but this is part of a disturbing and dangerous set of failures by the UN after their sabotage of President Trump ahead of and during his speech.’

Kelly told Fox News Digital that the U.S. Secret Service will investigate ‘how this violent protester was admitted into a major national security event.’

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that the individual has been charged with assault, aggravated harassment, attempted assault and criminal possession of a weapon. The individual was released from custody at 7:30 p.m. Friday night, the source said. The individual is expected in court next on Nov. 13. 

‘The UN must answer why these highly concerning incidents continue to happen against the president and his staff,’ Kelly said.

‘We are outraged that a member of the U.S. delegation was physically assaulted inside of UN Headquarters the afternoon of September 25,’ a U.S. UN spokesperson told Fox News Digital. ‘This attack must be addressed swiftly, and consequences must be felt.’

The spokesperson told Fox News Digital that ‘the UN itself recognizes that it has lost its way.’

‘Now, it has devolved into an arena where an American delegation member is harassed and assaulted,’ the spokesperson said. ‘If you can’t keep people safe in your own building, how can you claim to be the world’s diplomatic center?’

The spokesperson called the incident ‘unacceptable,’ and told Fox News Digital that the United Nations ‘will use every available resource to support the U.S. Secret Service into their investigation of this incident.’

‘We know the UN needs dramatic reform and now must also immediately implement a thorough review of the UN’s security operations,’ the spokesperson said. ‘The UN’s failures are evident worldwide, and now in its own halls.’

The U.S. UN spokesperson added: ‘Enough is enough.’

The official recounted her experience of being followed, harassed, and physically assaulted inside the United Nations in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

The official told Fox News Digital that she was walking down the hallway at the UN when a woman began berating her and shining a bright light in her face.

‘It was very disorienting,’ the official said. ‘Once I took a step back and regained my footing, it didn’t stop. I realized what was happening. I realized I was being yelled at and that the light was also a recording device.’

The official tried to get away from the woman who was screaming derogatory and pro-Palestinian comments at her as she followed closely behind.

The official said the woman called her a ‘fascist’ and a ‘Nazi.’ 

‘The insults changed to specific insults,’ the official said, telling Fox News Digital that she went into the women’s bathroom to get away, but that the woman kept following her.

‘Her yelling turned into screaming—hyper-aggressive insults,’ the official said. 

The official tried to hide in a bathroom stall, but told Fox News Digital that the woman was pushing and trying to get into the stall. Once the official was able to close the door, the woman put the camera over the door of the bathroom stall to continue filming the official and screaming. 

The official waited for the screaming to stop, and exited the stall, hoping the woman had left, but the woman was waiting for her at the door, and continued to follow her into the hallway, continuing to yell at her and shine the light in her face. Eventually, the official was able to get away.

The official told Fox News Digital the incident lasted approximately 10 minutes.

‘It felt very political in nature,’ she said. ‘Secretary Kennedy gets a tremendous number of bows and arrows and threats that he deals with, but it seems that it’s not enough, and it is trickling down.’

She added: ‘That’s a scary thing for the team. But we’re more empowered, and we have amazing leadership.’

Fox News Digital has learned that the woman was arrested by the New York City Police Department. It is unclear whether she is still in custody.

The NYPD did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

The United Nations did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

The United Nations on Friday failed to adopt a resolution brought by China and Russia that would have extended sanctions relief for Iran for another six months under the nuclear deal.

The vote was 4 to 9, with Algeria, China, Pakistan and Russia in favor and Denmark, France, Greece, Panama, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, the United Kingdom and the United States against.

Guyana and South Korea abstained.

The vote came after Britain, France and Germany triggered the deal’s ‘snapback’ measure, which reinstates sanctions on Iran following stalled talks on its nuclear program.

The sanctions, which will go into effect unless there’s a last-minute deal Friday, will include freezing Iranian assets abroad, halting arms deals with Tehran and penalizing any development of Iran’s ballistic missile program. 

‘We had hoped that European colleagues and the U.S. would think twice, and they would opt for the path of diplomacy and dialogue instead of their clumsy blackmail, which merely results in escalation of the situation in the region,’ Dmitry Polyanskiy, deputy Russian ambassador to the U.N., said during the meeting.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, had also been meeting with his French, German and British counterparts in the lead-up to the U.N. vote. 

A European diplomat told The Associated Press the meeting ‘did not produce any new developments, any new results.’

On Tuesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, also said Iran would not ‘surrender to pressure’ and that negotiations with the U.S. would be a ‘dead end.’ 

In an interview on Friday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called the decision ‘unfair, unjust and illegal.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

An appellate court is poised to decide a case that supporters and opponents of abortion access are closely watching because the decision could put Planned Parenthood, a prolific abortion vendor, on the hook for up to $1.8 billion.

A full panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit heard oral arguments Thursday in the years-long case, which centers on Planned Parenthood’s use of Medicaid funds in Texas and Louisiana.

Jennie Bradley Lichter, president of March for Life, told Fox News Digital the ‘stakes couldn’t be higher’ and that the lawsuit could bankrupt Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit with hundreds of clinics across the country.

‘Planned Parenthood is facing a repayment obligation of close to $2 billion because it continued to fill its coffers with taxpayers’ money even after two states had already disqualified it,’ Lichter said. ‘If that obligation stands, it will strike a serious — even existential — blow to Planned Parenthood’s national operations and potentially change the abortion landscape in this country forever.’

The case comes after Texas and Louisiana stripped Planned Parenthood affiliates of their Medicaid qualifications in response to activist David Daleiden releasing video footage showing Planned Parenthood staff discussing selling aborted fetal tissue.

Daleiden faced a lawsuit and prosecution for illegally recording the staff, but his footage set off a firestorm in the pro-life movement and caused it to ramp up its efforts to weaken the nonprofit.

Planned Parenthood, however, sued Texas and Louisiana and initially won an injunction that allowed it to keep receiving the Medicaid reimbursements. But the decision was reversed on appeal years later.

An anonymous litigant then brought a new lawsuit on behalf of the two states seeking to claw back the millions of dollars Planned Parenthood had collected while the injunction had been in place.

Court papers indicate that the potential money Planned Parenthood could now owe — reimbursement of the Medicaid dollars it collected plus various multipliers — could add up to $1.8 billion. The exact dollar amount would be determined by a jury in the lower court.

But Planned Parenthood and the anonymous litigant, named in court papers as ‘Alex Doe,’ are now waiting to see where the conservative 5th Circuit will land.

The issue before the 5th Circuit’s en banc panel is about whether Planned Parenthood had immunity when it collected the four years’ worth of Medicaid dollars. Planned Parenthood has argued it has immunity because its counsel advised it to collect the payments during the injunction period.

Thursday’s oral arguments came after a three-judge panel for the 5th Circuit comprising two Republican-appointed judges and one Democrat-appointed judge sided with Planned Parenthood.

Susan Manning, general counsel for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, blasted the Texas and Louisiana lawsuit as a ‘politically-motivated’ attempt to put the nonprofit out of business.

‘This baseless case has only one goal: to shut down Planned Parenthood and deny patients access to sexual and reproductive health care,’ Manning said in a statement this year. ‘Planned Parenthood health centers are nonprofits that provide essential, high-quality health care to more than 2 million people nationwide every year.’

Separately, pro-life activists made progress in their mission to defund Planned Parenthood this year when Congress voted to strip the nonprofit of Medicaid funding at the federal level for a one-year period.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit sided against Planned Parenthood in a lawsuit over the measure.

Eastern European leaders are urging President Donald Trump to keep U.S. troops on NATO’s eastern flank after a wave of Russian air and drone incursions, warning that Vladimir Putin is ‘pushing the limits’ and will ‘believe only what he sees’ from allied defenses.

In interviews with Fox News Digital, ministers from Estonia, Lithuania and Romania said the alliance must harden its posture — moving from air policing to integrated air and missile defenses, sharpening rules of engagement and sustaining U.S. troop rotations — to prevent Russia from normalizing violations and eroding Article 5 credibility. They paired the military message with calls for tighter sanctions and an end to European energy dependence that funds the Kremlin’s war machine.

Their appeals land as Washington weighs a new national security strategy aimed at prioritizing homeland defense. Before the most recent incursions, U.S. officials had cautioned allies to prepare for a reduction of the American footprint, pressing Europe to take on a greater share of the burden.

‘We hope U.S. troops remain in the region. Their presence secures peace and sends a clear signal,’ Estonia’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said. ‘Putin understands only the language of strength. His goal is the restoration of the Soviet empire.’

This month Russian drones were detected in Polish and Romanian airspace, while Russian missile-carrying MiG-29s crossed briefly into Estonian territory. For the ninth time this year, Russian jets were also spotted inside the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone.

Ahead of the U.S. expected global review of force posture, Lithuania’s foreign minister Kęstutis Budrys said deterrence must be visible, not theoretical.

He said he has been making the case to U.S. counterparts: ‘This presence makes the difference. It forces Russia to change its calculations.’

‘Russia they have to see. They don’t believe in our plans and our protocols. They believe in what they see. So they are crossing our airspace, and they see no reaction,’ he went on. ‘With the presence of the troops. When they see that they are stationed there, and they are training. And they’re interacting with the local armed forces. For them, this is the message that, okay, we are not getting in there.’

‘U.S. rotational deployments are one of the most effective deterrents,’ Budrys said. ‘Russia doesn’t believe in our plans; it believes what it sees.’

Romania’s warning

Romanian foreign minister Oana Țoiu echoed the Baltics, adding that security on the Black Sea is tied to U.S. interests.

‘Every country sets its priorities, but the security of the eastern flank also serves U.S. security and financial interests — there’s real potential for joint investment, cyber, energy and infrastructure if security is ensured,’ she said.

Țoiu noted Romania has authorized its forces to shoot down Russian drones that threaten its territory and economy, and stressed the importance of NATO’s U.S. presence. Bucharest is also positioning itself as a regional energy supplier, expanding nuclear power with U.S. support and tapping natural gas fields in the Black Sea.

Washington’s role

About 80,000 American troops are stationed across Europe, according to U.S. European Command — down from roughly 105,000 just after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Thousands rotate through Lithuania, Estonia hosts a persistent U.S. contingent and roughly 3,000 are based in Romania, according to the State Department.

Despite speculation about U.S. drawdowns, Trump and senior officials have sharpened their rhetoric. On Monday, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz pledged Washington would defend ‘every inch’ of NATO territory. Trump suggested intruding Russian aircraft should be shot down and insisted Ukraine, with European support, can take back all of its territory.

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said those statements have resonance.

‘The unity of NATO has never been clearer,’ Wilson told Fox News Digital. ‘Sweden and Finland are now members. Trump correctly pointed out allies weren’t reaching 2 percent, now he’s moving to 5 percent. That means peace through strength.’

Eastern Sentry

In response to Russia’s provocations, NATO launched Eastern Sentry on September 12, 2025. The multidomain activity, led by Allied Command Operations, brings together fighter jets, naval assets and counter-drone systems from multiple allies to plug gaps and rotate forces across the eastern flank — from the Baltics to the Black Sea. Unlike a static buildup, the mission is designed to adapt quickly to emerging threats and demonstrate flexible deterrence.