Iran’s President Rejects Threats, Calls for Diplomacy at UN

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Iran's President Rejects Threats, Calls for Diplomacy at UN

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a defiant speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, asserting that Iran would “never bend the knee” to threats, even as the nation has been engaged in nearly seven months of war with the United States and Israel. His address came a day after US President Donald Trump reportedly threatened to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a peace deal was not agreed upon soon.

Pezeshkian, considered a moderate politician within Iran, used his platform to condemn US and Israeli attacks on Iranian territory, characterizing his country as a “victim of terrorism.” He displayed photographs of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and over 150 Iranian schoolchildren reportedly killed in the early days of the conflict. The Iranian president maintained that Iran has only acted in self-defense and does not seek to build nuclear weapons, a claim he reiterated before the assembly.

Despite the strong rhetoric, Pezeshkian also expressed Iran’s readiness for a diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict. He emphasized that dialogue requires goodwill and mutual trust, urging the US to abandon threats and war-provoking actions for diplomatic efforts to succeed. This stance aligns with previous statements where he called for diplomatic paths to resolve the conflict, stressing that continued war benefits neither Iran nor the US. However, he also highlighted that vigilance and distrust in interactions with Washington remain an “undeniable necessity.”

The conflict between the US and Israel and Iran began in February 2026, with attacks targeting nuclear and military infrastructure and resulting in the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. A Pakistan-mediated ceasefire and a June memorandum of understanding temporarily halted large-scale fighting, but intermittent strikes have continued, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz.

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