Senate Republican Labels Iran and Allies “Reptiles” Amid UNGA Tensions

Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) described the leadership of Iran, China, North Korea and Russia as a “colony of reptiles,” singling out President Xi Jinping as the “chief reptile.” He defended President Trump’s recent military actions against Iran, asserting that the United States had “degraded Iran substantially” and achieved its objectives. In response, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the United Nations General Assembly that Iran would not surrender its nuclear program and warned that the United States and its allies were “bullying” Tehran.

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During the same UNGA session, President Trump met with an Iranian delegation for three hours, a meeting that included his son-in-law Jared Kushner. The following day, the United States rolled out a red-carpet welcome for President Xi at Joint Base Andrews, marking the first official state visit by a Chinese leader in more than a decade. The visit occurs amid heightened U.S.–China tensions over trade, artificial-intelligence cooperation, and U.S. arms shipments to Taiwan.

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Kennedy argued that the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments, remains the “only problem remaining” in the conflict with Iran and suggested that the United States might eventually rely on China, Russia, North Korea, Europe and other nations to address it.

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• “And they’re part of a colony of reptiles: China, North Korea, Russia and, as I said, Iran. The chief reptile, the quarterback, is President Xi in China. You can’t trust any of them.” — Sen. John Kennedy — Sen. John Kennedy

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• “We will never bow our head or bend at the knee,” — Pezeshkian — Masoud Pezeshkian

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