Trump, Netanyahu meet at White House amid Iran talks<\/a><\/h4>\nFox News’ Peter Doocy reports the latest on President Donald Trump’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Discussions cover Iran nuclear negotiations and the future ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nNEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\nUNITED NATIONS:<\/strong> U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres sent a congratulatory message to Iran marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution<\/a>, a move that drew sharp criticism from anti-regime Iranian voices and human rights advocates.<\/p>\nIn a letter addressed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Guterres “extended his warmest congratulations on the National Day of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” describing such anniversaries as an opportunity to reflect on a country\u2019s path and contributions to the international community, according to Iranian state and regional reporting published Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The message comes weeks after the U.N.\u2019s top human rights body<\/a> condemned Iran over abuses tied to a violent crackdown on anti-government protests and mandated further investigation into alleged violations, with some reports citing casualty figures that could reach 30,000, pending verification.<\/p>\nRUBIO REVOKES IRANIAN OFFICIALS’ US TRAVEL PRIVILEGES OVER DEADLY PROTEST CRACKDOWN KILLING THOUSANDS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n![\"Ant\u00f3nio](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1200\/675\/antonio_guterres.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n\n\nU.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres speaks at the 55th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 26, 2024.<\/span> (Salvatore Di Nolfi\/Keystone via AP)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFurthermore, according to the NGO U.N. Watch, Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, is expected to address the U.N. Human Rights Council<\/a> on Feb. 23.<\/p>\nAgainst that backdrop, critics said the secretary-general\u2019s congratulatory message<\/a> risked sending a conflicting signal.<\/p>\n“The U.N. secretary-general\u2019s congratulatory message is not merely diplomatic routine \u2014 it is abjectly tone-deaf,” said Iran analyst Banafsheh Zand. “At a time when the Iranian people continue to endure executions, repression<\/a> and systemic abuse at the hands of the Islamic Republic, offering formal congratulations to the architects of that suffering reads as a moral failure.”<\/p>\nZand added that such gestures “erode [the U.N.\u2019s] credibility and deepen the wound for those still fighting for freedom inside Iran.”<\/p>\n
Andrew Ghalili, policy director at the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI), said the message amounted to legitimizing a repressive system.<\/p>\n
AMBASSADOR MIKE WALTZ LAYS OUT \u2018AMERICA FIRST\u2019 VISION FOR US LEADERSHIP AT THE UN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n![\"Burning](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1200\/675\/iran-protesters.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n\n\nCars burn in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency\u2019s value in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026.<\/span> (Stringer\/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n“The United Nations is legitimizing a regime built on repression, executions and the systematic destruction of basic freedoms,” Ghalili said. “Offering celebratory recognition to the Islamic Republic on the anniversary of its revolution ignores the bloodshed, the repression of protesters and the ongoing hostage-taking of innocent people.”<\/p>\n
Human rights groups have repeatedly warned that impunity has enabled ongoing abuses in Iran, urging U.N. member states to pursue accountability for what they describe as systemic violations and mass killings of protesters<\/a>.<\/p>\nSt\u00e9phane Dujarric, spokesperson for the secretary-general, told Fox News Digital during a press briefing that the message to Tehran was part of a long-standing U.N. protocol.<\/p>\n
NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n UNITED NATIONS:<\/strong> U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres sent a congratulatory message to Iran marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution<\/a>, a move that drew sharp criticism from anti-regime Iranian voices and human rights advocates.<\/p>\n In a letter addressed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Guterres “extended his warmest congratulations on the National Day of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” describing such anniversaries as an opportunity to reflect on a country\u2019s path and contributions to the international community, according to Iranian state and regional reporting published Wednesday.<\/p>\n The message comes weeks after the U.N.\u2019s top human rights body<\/a> condemned Iran over abuses tied to a violent crackdown on anti-government protests and mandated further investigation into alleged violations, with some reports citing casualty figures that could reach 30,000, pending verification.<\/p>\n RUBIO REVOKES IRANIAN OFFICIALS’ US TRAVEL PRIVILEGES OVER DEADLY PROTEST CRACKDOWN KILLING THOUSANDS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres speaks at the 55th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 26, 2024.<\/span> (Salvatore Di Nolfi\/Keystone via AP)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Furthermore, according to the NGO U.N. Watch, Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, is expected to address the U.N. Human Rights Council<\/a> on Feb. 23.<\/p>\n Against that backdrop, critics said the secretary-general\u2019s congratulatory message<\/a> risked sending a conflicting signal.<\/p>\n “The U.N. secretary-general\u2019s congratulatory message is not merely diplomatic routine \u2014 it is abjectly tone-deaf,” said Iran analyst Banafsheh Zand. “At a time when the Iranian people continue to endure executions, repression<\/a> and systemic abuse at the hands of the Islamic Republic, offering formal congratulations to the architects of that suffering reads as a moral failure.”<\/p>\n Zand added that such gestures “erode [the U.N.\u2019s] credibility and deepen the wound for those still fighting for freedom inside Iran.”<\/p>\n Andrew Ghalili, policy director at the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI), said the message amounted to legitimizing a repressive system.<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR MIKE WALTZ LAYS OUT \u2018AMERICA FIRST\u2019 VISION FOR US LEADERSHIP AT THE UN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Cars burn in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency\u2019s value in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026.<\/span> (Stringer\/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “The United Nations is legitimizing a regime built on repression, executions and the systematic destruction of basic freedoms,” Ghalili said. “Offering celebratory recognition to the Islamic Republic on the anniversary of its revolution ignores the bloodshed, the repression of protesters and the ongoing hostage-taking of innocent people.”<\/p>\n Human rights groups have repeatedly warned that impunity has enabled ongoing abuses in Iran, urging U.N. member states to pursue accountability for what they describe as systemic violations and mass killings of protesters<\/a>.<\/p>\n St\u00e9phane Dujarric, spokesperson for the secretary-general, told Fox News Digital during a press briefing that the message to Tehran was part of a long-standing U.N. protocol.<\/p>\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
![\"Iranian](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1200\/675\/iranian-foreign-minister-araghchi.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
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