Staff Report
AP Photo
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian used his address to the UN General Assembly’s 81st session on Tuesday to reject what he described as coercion from Washington, while insisting Tehran remains willing to negotiate.
“The US president described us as terrorists. We have been the victims of terrorism,” Pezeshkian told the assembled delegates, pointing to the toll Iran says it suffered during its recent war. He said the country had endured direct attacks without capitulating: “Yes they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee.”
The Iranian leader held up photographs during his remarks, including images of children he said were killed in a missile strike on the Shajarat al-Tayyiba school in Minab on the opening day of the conflict, an attack Iran says killed 156 people. He also displayed a picture of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the same opening strikes, and referenced a separate US strike on a sports hall that day.
Despite the accusations, Pezeshkian struck a conciliatory note on the prospect of renewed diplomacy. “It must be understood by Mr Trump and those who seek to bully us that we are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force,” he said.
The speech came a day after President Trump raised the possibility of further military action, asking whether “a deal be made with Iran… or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly?” Members of the US delegation walked out of the chamber as Pezeshkian spoke.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed Iran’s remarks on the world stage, saying he did not “know what standing Iran has to lecture anyone on human rights or the international system when they habitually violate it.”
The dueling statements came as envoys from Washington and Tehran held talks that Trump characterised as “very good,” a description Iranian officials pushed back on, calling the exchange largely uneventful. Pezeshkian’s UN appearance suggested Iran is seeking to project resilience abroad while leaving the door open to a negotiated de-escalation with the United States.
