Last month, world leaders converged for the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The intended agenda focused on the U.N.’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals on climate change, poverty and inequality.

The reality was slightly different.

Dominating were Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the multifaceted conflagration in the Middle East. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that Russia was losing its war of conquest and so was trying to break civilian morale by attacking Ukraine’s energy network. In counterpoint, Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, deployed the standard tropes of his country’s innocence, while warning darkly that NATO’s support for Ukraine was a “suicidal escapade” because of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

The recently elected president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, spoke of his desire for reform and international engagement, while denouncing Israel’s “desperate barbarism.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an uncompromising address condemning "savage enemies who seek our annihilation," prompting several national delegations to walk out.

Some took a broader approach. The always-upredictable President Javier Milei of Argentina borrowed heavily from an episode of “The West Wing” as he gave a speech redefining the U.N.’s goal as the right for people to live without “political oppression, economic slavery or religious fanaticism.” British Prime........

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