Arabic version: بزشكيان يندد بالولايات المتحدة ويؤكد الانفتاح على الدبلوماسية في الأمم المتحدة

According to Al Jazeera, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian used his United Nations General Assembly address to denounce US President Donald Trump’s threats while saying Iran remained open to cooperation and negotiations after nearly seven months of war.

Pezeshkian responded to Trump’s description of Iran as terrorist, saying, “The US president called us terrorists but we are the victims of terrorists.” He held up a picture of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom he said was assassinated in a joint US-Israeli strike in February, and photographs of schoolgirls killed in an alleged US attack on a school in Minab. “They hit us, but we did not bow our heads or bend the knee,” he said.

The Iranian president said resistance would grow under “sanctions and increased pressure and bullying”. A US delegation official left the hall as his speech began, while the Israeli delegation boycotted the address. Pezeshkian also criticised what he described as international double standards over Iran and Gaza, saying, “They kill and we are sanctioned and we are punished.”

Despite the sharp language, Pezeshkian said, “Iran extends its hands towards the world,” and called for cooperation because no country in the region could have security alone. He also addressed the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that Iran could not accept others using the waterway to impose aggression or deny Iran access to its own waterways.

Trump said on Tuesday that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff had held a three-hour meeting with Iranian officials, calling it “very good” and “very productive” and saying there was momentum towards an agreement. He later said talks were continuing. Negar Mortazavi of the Center for International Policy said the speech indicated Iran wanted a diplomatic way out of the war, while former US diplomat Joey Hood said it repeated familiar rhetoric and missed an opportunity to present a concrete peace proposal.