WATCH LIVE: Iranian President Pezeshkian addresses 2026 UN General Assembly
President Masoud Pezeshkian is set to make a rare appearance Wednesday on the world stage when he speaks at the U.N. General Assembly in what is likely the first time a foreign leader addresses the world body while their country is at war with the host nation.
Farnoush Amiri, Associated Press Farnoush Amiri, Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran's president said Wednesday that his people have been "victims of terrorism" by the United States, delivering a rare wartime speech at U.N. General Assembly a day after President Donald Trump said he could "annihilate" the Islamic republic.
In a defiant speech, President Masoud Pezeshkian held up large photos of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the more than 150 school Iranian children killed on the first days of the war.
"We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists," Pezeshkian said at the General Assembly. "Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country. And we defended ourselves with utmost strength. America and Israel attacked us."
He added of the United States: "Yes they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee." Toward the end of his speech, Pezeshkian called out Trump by name.
"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.
