Opinion: What Pezeshkian's UN speech tells us about 'International Order'

"I come from the country (Iran), where they (the United States and Israel) have assassinated our leader (Syed Ali Khamenei) without any legal or logical framework. I come from the country where they bombed a school," remarked Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during his address at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.

Starting his speech with Bismillah, the Islamic opening phrase expressing gratitude to Allah and admitting His omnibenevolence, Pezeshkian defended his nation against being labelled as "terrorist" by US President Donald Trump. "We are actually the victims of terrorism," he hit back at the POTUS.

He waved the pictures of the assassinated Supreme Leader and the victims of the Minab school bombing to world leaders at the global stage. He stressed that the Iranian scientists, women, elders, youth and even innocent children were targeted indiscriminately. "They had committed no crime," he added. The address then went deeper into something that forces a sane person to ponder how the "rule-based international order" works and who actually decides "the rules."

Might is right: Hypocrisy over humanity?

He mentioned Iran's resolve and resilience against the more advanced war machinery used by the US and Israel against its territory. "They hit us but we did not bend the knee and did not bow our head," Pezeshkian said. One by one, he counted the war crimes committed in Iran, Lebanon and especially the Gaza genocide while questioning the audacity of Israeli and American leaders to call Iran "terrorist." He further remarked: "They adhere to none of international laws."

While expressing the dire need for Iran to have military power for its defence, he emphasized that those who are defenceless would be trampled upon. "Iran must be powerful to avoid being threatened," he mentioned while assuring of the commitment that Iran seeks power for defence and energy for progress, not as the tools of aggression to threaten other societies.

"We do not seek our security in the insecurity of others." The Iranian president reminded the world that the country has been facing sanctions despite having not attacked any country in the last 200 years and only acting to defend itself from foreign aggression.

Relating to the use of nuclear technology, he argued that Iran has the right to a peaceful nuclear programme for "civilian purposes" while calling out the "double standards" of the international bodies to allow unchecked weapons of mass destruction in Israel. "The nuclear weapon is in Israel, but the inspectors are in Iran. Israel kills, but Iran is subject to sanctions," Pezeshkian took a dig at the "international order" at UNGA.

Bully Mentality: Enforcing "Two-faced International Order"

Earlier, in his speech at UNGA, Donald Trump drew criticism and condemnation over his threatening remarks against Iran. "Do I annihilate the Islamic Republic... Or do I drive them into hell," he said during his speech at the world stage. Many analysts and media commentators have interpreted Trump's furious remarks as a "violation of international law" and tantamount to an "act of war," and this did not happen for the first time and possibly not the last time.

The Iranian president also called out this "bullying mentality" of the POTUS and hoped for constructive dialogue to de-escalate the tensions in the Middle East without using the "language of force."

The address, in large part, evokes the sense of superiority prevailing in the Western liberal international order that has remained masked since the end of the Second World War while establishing  its "hegemony" in the Global South. Trump has so far been an exception in this case; the supremacy of the West no longer needs the label of sovereignty. Such is the Trump effect that Western media has to label Pezeshkian's speech as "defiant and rare."