UN General Assembly goes virtual

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani compared U.S. sanctions on his country to the treatment of George Floyd, the African American man who died in late May after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis. President Donald Trump announced plans to reimpose economic penalties on Iran on Monday. In a pre-recorded speech to the UN General Assembly, Rouhani described U.S. behavior as “the feet of arrogance on the neck of independent nations.” The UN allowed one diplomat from each nation to attend in person to introduce his or her respective leader’s remarks, delivered via video.

What else was said at the meeting? Trump took aim at China for its handling of COVID-19, saying, “We must hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world.” Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the United Nations to stop Western sanctions against his country and offered to provide free coronavirus vaccines to all UN staff members.

Dig deeper: Watch the recorded version of the General Assembly.