Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, told the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday that his country will not surrender what he called its right to a peaceful nuclear program, pushing back against mounting pressure from Washington and its allies.
In a speech delivered a day after US President Donald Trump addressed the same chamber, Pezeshkian insisted that Iran's nuclear activities are intended for civilian purposes and that the Islamic republic has no ambition to build a weapon. He also pointed to Israel's undeclared nuclear arsenal, arguing that the international community applies a double standard by treating Tehran as a threat while ignoring the region's other nuclear power.
«They kill people, and we get sanctions imposed on us. It is ridiculous,» he said, according to accounts of the address.
The Iranian leader devoted much of his remarks to presenting his country as a victim rather than an aggressor. He said Iranians had been «victims of terrorism» over the past seven months and that the country had only defended itself. «We are not terrorists,» he said.
During the speech, he displayed large photographs of Ali Khamenei, the spiritual leader killed in February, and of at least 150 Iranian schoolchildren who died in the first days of the war in US bombardments. The display prompted the American delegation to leave the hall.
Pezeshkian's appearance came amid a fragile and uncertain diplomatic track. Talks between Iran and the United States had been largely stalled in recent weeks, though Trump told journalists a day earlier that the two sides had spoken again and that the exchange had been «very good.» That account was later contradicted, leaving the state of negotiations unclear.
Trump has repeatedly said his goal is to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and he has warned that the Islamic republic could be «destroyed» if an agreement to end the war between Washington and Tehran is not reached quickly.
After the speech, both the United States and Israel called it hypocritical for Pezeshkian to cast his country as a victim. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was not sure Iran had the standing to lecture anyone on human rights «while it systematically violates them.»
Pezeshkian nonetheless sought to keep the door open to a negotiated path. «They have hit us, but we do not bow,» he said, referring to the United States. Toward the end of his address, he turned directly to the American president: «Trump and those who try to intimidate us must understand that we are ready for dialogue, ready for diplomacy and negotiations, without accepting violence.»
The address underscored the widening gap between Tehran's insistence on its nuclear rights and the demands of Washington and its allies, as well as the difficulty of reviving talks that have repeatedly faltered. For now, both sides appear to be holding to their positions, with the diplomatic window narrow and the consequences of failure potentially severe.