TEHRAN -- Iran’s parliament speaker Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday condemned the United Arab Emirates’ nomination of a diplomat for the UN secretary-general post, saying Abu Dhabi is seeking to whitewash a systematic genocide in Gaza and to pave the way for a “Greater Israel” project.
In a post on X, Ghalibaf referred to Emirati diplomat Lana Nusseibeh, currently a minister of state and former UAE permanent representative to the UN, who was nominated by Abu Dhabi for the top UN job last week. 
“A bid for UN’s top job to clear the diplomatic runway for Greater Israel project and whitewash a systematic genocide,” Ghalibaf wrote. “Defending the Gaza tragedy is the resume; the fox is updating the LinkedIn profile to apply for the henhouse guard job.”
Ghalibaf’s post referenced this by sharing excerpts from an old interview in which Nusseibeh defended UAE-Israel normalization and cooperation.
The only entity to publicly welcome Nusseibeh’s nomination is Somaliland, the self-declared republic that Israel recognized as an independent state in December 2025 and whose police and military forces receive Israeli training.
Somaliland is not a UN member state and holds no vote in the selection process—but it has drawn attention to the diplomatic alignment between Abu Dhabi, Israel and the breakaway territory. 
Analysts have noted that the UAE played a key role in pushing Israel toward recognizing Somaliland. 
The UAE’s regional role and policies around the world have been marked by immature ambitions of projecting power beyond its strategic weight, pursuing geopolitical
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