New York was preoccupied with the death of Queen Elizabeth II this week as the flags were lowered to half-mast and the funeral was covered by extensively the media as well as with the General Assembly that prompted changes to the traffic as world leaders made their way to Manhattan.
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And still, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi managed to make headlines and draw attention away from the royal funeral and the United Nations meeting with his interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," during which he cast doubt on the Holocaust.
It was amazing to discover how deep the matter runs, and even more so: how non-gallantly Raisi spoke about it, despite the damage and backlash that such remarks cause.
For years, Israel "enjoyed" the gift that was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former president of Iran, who showed the face of evil to the world every day, and embodied the danger that is the ayatollah regime.
After him, Tehran opted for a more pleasant and friendly face (albeit just as extreme) of Hassan Rouhani but has since returned to its former ways.
This is not necessarily bad news for Israel, because Raisi does a better job at diplomacy for the Jewish state than Israeli officials themselves.
But the CBC interview and the subsequent criticism are the least of Raisi's concerns. The United States slammed him following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman who died while in the custody of the country's so-called "morality police," who had arrested her after finding fault with her hijab.
Of course, authorities first claimed she died of a heart attack, rather than being beaten, and Raisi even claimed that Amini was like "his own daughter." But it was another event that made it clear to the world – and especially to the US and the naive administration in Washington – who they were dealing with.
Although these incidents are not directly related to what concerns Israel the most – the nuclear deal – it does impact public opinion, which in turn influences decision makers, especially with the mid-term elections coming up. This is partially why the US, Britain, France, and Germany are steadfast in their refusal of the conditions Iran has set for the return to the agreement, primarily ending the International Atomic Energy Agency's probe into enriched uranium traces found at several of its undisclosed sites.
The powers have made it clear that they will not agree to the demand, even at the expense of the accord. This bodes well for Israel, although one must remember that these decisions can change.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid spoke about the matter with leaders in New York, but his main challenge remains to formulate a policy – internal and international – on what to do if the deal is not signed, especially if Iran decides to challenge the world and sprint to an atomic bomb.
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