Israel PM slams Iran president's speech at UN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's speech at the UN General Assembly in New York Tuesday night, saying it is "cynical" and "full of hypocrisy".

"Rouhani spoke of human rights even as Iranian forces are participating in a large-scale slaughter of innocent civilians in Syria," Xinhua quoted Netanyahu as saying in a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office.

Netanyahu also said that despite Rouhani's assertion that Iran's nuclear programme was meant for civilian purposes, the International Atomic Energy Agency had determined the plan has military aspects.

Netanyahu justified his earlier call for the Israeli delegation to ban the Iranian president's speech, repeating the claim that Iran's new strategy is "to talk and play for time in order to advance its ability to achieve nuclear weapons".

"The international community must test Iran not by words but by actions," he added.