World governments’ understanding of the Middle East and Arab states is confused, said Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in his speech at the UN Security Council. After calling for a moment of silence for the victims of terrorism, he went to state that there were some regional nations that have been using terrorism and organizations for their own regional agenda (wink wink Qatar, Turkey, Iran). He then said that the question of Palestinian statehood remains one of the most pressing regional issues and must be prioritized, going on to condemn rising Islamophobia and hate speech in the West, AMAY reports.

Shoukry also expressed his extreme annoyance at the international attention focused on the raid against the Press Syndicate and the arrest of Amr Badr and Mahmoud El Sakka, whom he accused of inciting to murder President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, at a press conference following his speech. He criticized the characterization of Egypt as a place that attacks freedom of speech, AMAY reports.

While in New York, Shoukry met with his counterpart from New Zealand on Tuesday to coordinate on several issues at the UN Security Council meeting, the ministry said in a statement.