US Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster speak at the White House on Friday. Photo: Screenshot.

Iran will be a top agenda item when US President Donald Trump meets on Monday in New York City with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the 72nd UN General Assembly session, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said at a White House press briefing on Friday.

“We expect that Iran’s destabilizing behavior, including its violation of the sovereignty of nations across the Middle East, to be a major focus,” McMaster told reporters.

McMaster was joined at the podium by US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, and the two detailed Trump’s plans for the coming week. The president will address the UN on Tuesday.

“It is a new day at the UN,” Haley said. “The UN has shifted over the past several months — it’s not just about talking, it’s about action.”

In a response to a question about international diplomatic efforts to resolve the ongoing conflict in Syria, Haley emphasized that, after a defeat of ISIS, “Iran is not going to be in charge” of the country.

“Iran is not going to have any sort of leadership in that situation to where they can do more harm,” she added.

During his series of meetings with world leaders at the annual UN gathering, Trump, McMaster noted, “will talk about the prospect for a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, among a broad range of regional issues.”

On Wednesday, two days after his meeting with Netanyahu, Trump will sit down with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Trump has, on several occasions, expressed a desire to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, which he has called the “ultimate deal.”

Friday’s White House press briefing can be viewed in its entirety below: