Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations walked a Starlink internet terminal over to Iran’s delegation after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a fiery speech at the U.N. on Thursday — but the Iranian diplomat refused to take it.
Ambassador Danny Danon posted a video of the exchange on X, captioning it, “The Iranian representative didn’t want the Starlink,” followed by a sad-face emoji.
The video shows Danon carrying a Starlink device across the U.N. General Assembly hall toward the Iranian delegation.
“I thought it was appropriate to deliver the Starlink,” Danon told an Iranian diplomat seated at the delegation’s table. “If you heard the prime minister, it could be very useful for you to allow the Iranian people to get their freedom after what you did to them.”
“Do you want to take it and deliver it back to Tehran?” Danon continued. “It can be very useful for you in Iran. We love the Iranian people, and we pray for the regime change there. It will come that day.”
The Iranian diplomat, wearing a translation headset, did not respond. He avoided eye contact with Danon and looked away as the Israeli ambassador stood nearby holding the Starlink terminal.
The exchange came shortly after Netanyahu held up a Starlink communications terminal during his address to the General Assembly while discussing Iran’s restrictions on internet access.
“This is a communications device, Starlink, that allows people to access truth, to exercise choice, to exercise freedom of thought and freedom of speech,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu said he would leave the device with the president of the U.N. General Assembly so that it could eventually be given to Iranian officials who defect from the regime.
“So when they inevitably defect, they too will be able to freely tell their story on social media,” Netanyahu said.
After the Iranian regime cracked down on anti-government protests and restricted internet access, the Trump administration moved to help Iranians circumvent the government’s efforts to cut them off from the outside world.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the State Department purchased nearly 7,000 Starlink terminals, most of them in January, after senior Trump administration officials decided to redirect funds from other internet-freedom initiatives toward purchasing the terminals.
The terminals were intended to help anti-regime activists bypass internet shutdowns and get footage from inside Iran to the outside world, according to officials cited by the Journal.
The human rights organization Witness estimated in January that at least 50,000 Starlink terminals were operating in Iran, according to the BBC, while activists said the number was likely to have increased. The Iranian government has sought to criminalize the technology. Legislation passed last year made using, buying, or selling Starlink terminals punishable by up to two years in prison, while distributing or importing more than 10 terminals can carry a sentence of up to 10 years, the BBC reported.
Netanyahu used much of his speech to defend Israel’s military campaign against Iran, including its strikes on the country’s nuclear facilities.
“Devastating Iran’s nuclear facilities was hard. It was very hard to do,” Netanyahu said. “But for me, it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make as prime minister. Because if we hadn’t done it, we’d all be dead.”
He argued that Israel’s actions were also protecting other nations, including some of the countries whose representatives walked out of the chamber to make a spectacle.
“In defending itself, Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall,” Netanyahu said, adding that some foreign leaders privately thank Israel for destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Before beginning his remarks, Netanyahu addressed the diplomats who had walked out of the chamber.
“Before I begin, just a quick announcement: If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t yet left this hall, please do so now,” Netanyahu said.
The Iranian delegation, which was absent during the speech, left a photograph of slain Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani at its seat during Netanyahu’s speech. Soleimani was killed in a 2020 U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.
Netanyahu also praised President Donald Trump for his role in confronting Iran, calling him Israel’s “great American” partner.
“Decades ago, he understood that if left unchallenged, the fanatic Ayatollahs who chant ‘Death to America, Death to Israel’ would eventually carry out their mad fantasies,” Netanyahu said. “So Israel and America acted together, not only to protect ourselves, but to save civilization.”
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