Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday vowed that Tehran would not surrender to pressure from the United States, delivering a defiant speech at the United Nations amid the ongoing war between Iran, the United States and Israel.
Pezeshkian accused Washington of “terrorism” over the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the conflict and held up a photograph of the late leader during his address.
He also maintained that Iran had never started a war, while accusing the United States and Israel of aggression against his country.
“[Trump] must know that the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying. We will never bow our head or bend at the knee,” Pezeshkian said.
His remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump told the UN General Assembly that he was considering whether to “annihilate” Iran if no agreement was reached, while also saying that US and Iranian negotiators had held productive talks.
Pezeshkian did not focus on the reported talks in his address but left the door open to diplomacy, saying Iran was extending its hands to the world while insisting that it would not negotiate from a position of weakness.
On the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil shipping route affected by the conflict, Pezeshkian said Iran would not accept arrangements that allowed other countries to use the waterway while restricting Tehran’s access to it.
“We cannot let some have free access and bolster their interests from the waterway, while at the same time using that waterway to impose their aggression upon us,” he said.
The conflict has contributed to higher fuel prices, adding to economic and political pressure in the United States ahead of the November midterm elections.
Pezeshkian’s attendance at the UN General Assembly had been uncertain over whether Washington would grant him a visa. The United States ultimately issued the visa, although several members of his delegation were reportedly denied entry permits.
