Tight security, protests expected as UN General Assembly opens

The brief

Context

The United Nations General Assembly's annual high-level session brings leaders from nearly 200 countries to New York, turning Manhattan into one of the world's most demanding security zones. Because the UN headquarters sits on US soil, Washington controls entry visas for visiting delegations, giving the host state leverage over who can attend in person. This year the Trump administration approved visas for core members of Iran's delegation but with shopping restrictions, while again denying a visa to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Multiple ongoing conflicts and the expected address by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu have set the stage for daily protests and a massive NYPD deployment.

Key facts

• Leaders from nearly 200 countries are expected in New York as the UN General Assembly gets underway next week.
• The Trump administration approved visas for the core members of Iran's delegation despite the ongoing war.
• The State Department barred Iranian delegation members from purchasing luxury goods and from shopping at wholesale clubs.
• A State Department spokesman warned New York-area retailers on X: "the regime's officials want to go on shopping sprees in New York. Not on our watch."
• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was denied a US entry visa for the second year in a row; the UN is expected to let him address the Assembly by video, as he did last year.
• NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said thousands of officers will be deployed in and around UN headquarters.
• Support units include heavy weapons teams, aviation and harbor units, K-9 teams, the Bomb Squad, the NYPD drone team and counterterrorism officers.
• New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani explored arresting Netanyahu under an International Criminal Court warrant, but a legal review found he lacked that authority; he says he will not join protests.

Timeline

1. Last yearThe US denied Abbas an entry visa and he addressed the UN General Assembly by video.
2. Before this year's sessionA legal review concluded Mayor Mamdani had no authority to arrest Netanyahu on the ICC warrant.
3. Ahead of the sessionState Department approves visas for core Iranian delegation members with curbs on luxury and wholesale shopping; Abbas denied a visa again.
4. Next weekUN General Assembly convenes; Netanyahu expected to speak; daily protests, street closures and thousands of NYPD officers deployed.

Who has a stake

• United Nations — Must host leaders of nearly 200 countries and decide on video addresses for leaders denied US visas, such as Abbas.
• US State Department — Controls visas and set conditions on Iran's delegation, using host-state powers as a foreign policy instrument.
• Iran's delegation — Allowed to attend but restricted from buying luxury goods or shopping at wholesale clubs while in New York.
• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas — Barred from travelling to New York for a second year; likely limited to a video address.
• Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu — Expected to address the Assembly amid the most closely watched protests of the week.
• NYPD and Commissioner Jessica Tisch — Running what Tisch calls one of the department's most complex security operations, involving every aspect of the force.
• New York City residents and Mayor Zohran Mamdani — Face significant traffic disruptions and street closures; Mamdani, a Netanyahu critic, says he will not protest.

Why it matters

The episode shows how the host country of the UN can shape who speaks at the world's main diplomatic forum, since visas for Iran came with conditions and Abbas was kept out entirely. That raises questions about equal access for member states at a body built on sovereign equality. It also illustrates the security and civic cost borne by a host city during high-level UN weeks.