UN General Assembly

United Against Nuclear Iran successfully spearheaded the isolation of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his visit to New York for the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 2011. Our protest and advocacy activities were featured in a number of media outlets, including CBS New York, AFP, NBC New York, CNN, The Atlantic, Huffington Post, The Daily Caller, CBS Radio, and the New York Post among many others. Additional information about UANI's advocacy and protest activities and related media coverage can be found on the UN General Assembly Campaign page.

As in previous years, UANI broke the news regarding where Ahmadinejad was staying - the Warwick New York Hotel - and promptly alerted our supporters and the media. As a result, the Warwick Hotel was confronted with considerable backlash from the public and negative coverage in the news media for its decision to provide Ahmadinejad with accommodations.

UANI subsequently relocated its headquarters to the Warwick Hotel for the remainder of Ahmadinejad's visit in order to better coordinate protest activities, present Ahmadinejad with a petition, and glean first-hand information about his whereabouts and activities. For example, UANI confirmed a dinner hosted by Ahmadinejad at the Warwick for students and faculty from U.S. universities including Columbia, Princeton and New York University and was able to immediately notify our supporters and the media.

We are pleased to report that our activities have already resulted in significant reputational and financial harm for the Warwick Hotel. This is only right, as Ahmadinejad is the leader of a criminal regime that flouts international law by developing an illegal nuclear weapon, ruthlessly violates the human rights of its people, and is the world's leading sponsor of terror. He is also a notorious purveyor of anti-Semitism and ugly conspiracy theories-this year he once again used his platform at the UNGA to deny the Holocaust and suggest that the U.S. government was behind the September 11 attacks.

Clearly, no venue should be providing accommodation for such a leader without incurring severe reputational and financial consequences. The foregoing protest activities, in combination with UANI's unique UNGA advertising campaigns, drew attention to the Warwick's inappropriate decision to host Ahmadinejad and highlighted the consensus opinion among Americans that Ahmadinejad is not welcome in New York.

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In the lead up to Ahmadinejad's arrival, UANI secured commitments from New York hotels to not host Ahmadinejad as part of its annual UNGA Campaign. UANI also unveiled a billboard in Times Square, as well as a mobile billboard and bicycle billboards to be driven through Midtown Manhattan near the UN with stops at Iran's UN Mission and the Warwick.

2011 News

  • Walkout at U.N. as Ahmadinejad speaks

    Delegations from the United States and several European nations walked out of the U.N. General Assembly Thursday during Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech, in which he repeatedly condemned the United States and said some countries use the Holocaust as an "excuse to pay ransom... to Zionists."

  • Protesters Let Warwick Hotel Have It For Choosing To Host Ahmadinejad

    In the days leading up to his latest rant at the United Nations, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad laid his head at night at the Warwick Hotel on West 54th Street. Security, as you might imagine, is incredibly tight, but CBS 2 got a camera inside.

  • Hotel hosting Ahmadinejad in NYC lambasted by activists

    United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) has temporarily re-located its headquarters to the Warwick Hotel in New York City, the same hotel that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is staying at this week.

     

  • Only One Group Seems to Mind Ahmadinejad's U.N. Visit This Year

    Read up on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the U.N. General Assembly in New York this week, and you'll come across headlines like Activists to Protest Ahmadinejad in New York and Controversy Comes to NYC Ahead of UN General Assembly. But here's the caveat: While Ahmadinejad's General Assembly visits are always cloaked in controversy, this year, at least thus far, the protests are largely emanating from one source: the New York-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, which counts some foreign policy heavyweights among its members.

  • Advocacy group asks hotel to reconsider hosting Ahmadinejad

    A city-based advocacy group today asked the Warwick hotel to reverse its decision to host Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his delegation during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

  • Controversy Comes To NYC Ahead Of UN General Assembly

    The United Nations General Assembly is still two days away, but it’s already drawing world leaders and international criticism to New York.

    Among the world leaders gathering is the always controversial Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and he’s booked a room at Manhattan’s Warwick Hotel.

  • Hotels Should Ban Ahmadinejad

    This September, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his delegation will once again visit New York City to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly. As always, expect Ahmadinejad to make a big splash with his normal bombast and conspiratorial flourish. It is worth recalling that in his speech before the assembly last year, he despicably claimed that the U.S. orchestrated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against its own citizens. And just this July, the U.S. government for the first time outlined Iran’s alliance with America’s public enemy No. 1, al Qaeda. In this secret relationship, revealed by the Treasury Department, al Qaeda is operating a network on Iranian soil to transfer money, arms, and fighters to its bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan.