Iran won't surrender in war with US, says Pezeshkian in UNGA address

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, addressing the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly, said that Iran would not surrender in the face of military force in its conflict with the United States. However, he emphasized that Iran remains committed to diplomacy as a means of bringing the conflict to an end.

At the beginning of his address, the Iranian president displayed photographs of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and schoolchildren in Minab who, according to Iran, were victims of U.S. and Israeli attacks.

He said the United States had dropped cluster bombs on an Iranian town, killing innocent civilians, including women and children. He further alleged that international law had not been observed in attacks on hospitals and schools, resulting in hundreds of deaths and displacing thousands of people.

President Pezeshkian stressed that Iran was not a terrorist state but was defending itself against aggression.

He said Iran had exercised its right to self-defense and that its retaliatory actions had targeted only U.S. military targets, not civilians.

Strongly criticizing what he described as double standards within the international community, President Pezeshkian said, “Israel carries out massacres, while sanctions are imposed on Iran. This is a double standard.”

Responding sharply to statements by U.S. President Donald Trump, Pezeshkian said Trump had labeled Iran as a terrorist, despite Iran itself being a victim of terrorism. He argued that those who engage in terrorism were accusing Iran of being a terrorist state.

The Iranian president also warned the U.S. president that threats and intimidation would only strengthen unity among the Iranian people.

Addressing regional security and the use of strategic waterways, President Pezeshkian said the Strait of Hormuz could not be allowed to be used for the transportation of weapons that would subsequently be used against Iran.

Shortly after the Iranian president began his speech, the U.S. representative walked out of the United Nations General Assembly session.