Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, declared that Tehran will not "bow its head" to threats from the United States but remains open to diplomatic engagement. This statement came a day after US President Donald Trump reportedly threatened to "annihilate" the Islamic Republic. Pezeshkian directly challenged Trump, asserting that increased sanctions, pressure, and bullying would only strengthen the Iranian people's resistance, and they would "never bow our head[s] or bend at the knee" middleeasteye.net.
Pezeshkian also used his platform to accuse the US and Israel of hypocrisy regarding nuclear proliferation. He highlighted the international community's efforts to constrain Iran's nuclear program while, he claims, allowing Israel to maintain its own nuclear arsenal, despite Israel's policy of not publicly confirming its nuclear capabilities. He pointed out the disparity by saying, "There are nuclear bombs in Israel, yet inspectors are in Iran" middleeasteye.net.
While asserting Iran's openness to diplomacy and its right to peaceful nuclear technology, Pezeshkian emphasized that negotiations under pressure or threats are unacceptable. He stated that Iran "does not seek special treatment, we seek equal rights" in its conflict with the US and called for an end to sanctions on his nation bnnbloomberg.ca. Some reports indicated that US delegates exited during Pezeshkian's speech timesofindia.com.
Earlier in the week, on September 21st, President Trump had indicated he would "probably" be open to meeting Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly bloomberg.com. However, subsequent developments included a five-day deadline issued by Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei for the US to meet Tehran’s conditions for opening the Strait of Hormuz, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio noting that while an Iran deal requires prolonged effort, military options remain available aljazeera.com.
