Iran will not 'bend the knee', Pezeshkian tells UN as US delegation walks out
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian told the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) that his people have been "victims of terrorism" at the hands of the United States, delivering a rare wartime address a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he could "annihilate" the Islamic Republic.
The speech, delivered in a defiant tone, came as the war between the two countries continues and as diplomatic efforts to halt it appear stalled. Mr. Pezeshkian held up large photographs of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and of more than 150 schoolchildren whom he said were killed in the opening days of the conflict.
The United States delegation walked out at the start of his address. The U.S. mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists," Mr. 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, referring to the United States: "Yes, they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee."
Mr. Pezeshkian also said Iran would not surrender in the war, but that it believed in diplomacy to try to end the conflict. Toward the end of his speech, he named Mr. Trump directly.
"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.
The Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war, has become a focal point of tensions between Iran and the United States. Mr. Pezeshkian said the waterway could not remain open to some while being closed to others.
"It cannot be the case that everyone benefits from the Strait of Hormuz while we are denied access to shipping through this waterway. The permanent deployment of hostile fleets and the expansion of the war will not lead to peace," he said.
The Iranian President made no reference in his speech to the talks aimed at resolving the stalled war. Reuters and The Associated Press, reporting from the session, noted the absence of any mention of the negotiations.
The address followed Mr. Trump's remark a day earlier that he could "annihilate" the Islamic Republic, a statement that has added to the sharp exchange between the two governments. Neither the White House nor the U.S. mission to the United Nations had issued a detailed response to Mr. Pezeshkian's speech at the time of filing.
The General Assembly address is one of the few occasions on which an Iranian leader has spoken at length in public since the war began. Tehran has used the platform in the past to press its case on sanctions and regional security, though wartime addresses of this kind are unusual.
Claims made during the speech about casualties, including the deaths of the schoolchildren, could not be independently verified by this publication. Casualty figures released by either side in the conflict have not been confirmed by neutral monitors.
The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the wider economic stakes of the confrontation. Any sustained disruption to shipping there would affect energy supplies well beyond the region, a concern that has been raised repeatedly by importing countries, including India, which relies heavily on Gulf crude.
What happens next is unclear. Mr. Pezeshkian's offer of dialogue without preconditions of force sits alongside his pledge that Iran will not capitulate, and Washington has given no public indication that it is prepared to return to the table on those terms.
