Iran · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Masoud Pezeshkian Tells UN General Assembly U.S. And Israel Are Terrorists
Pezeshkian says Iran is victim of terrorism, not the aggressor. Iran will not bow to U.S. pressure and remains open to diplomacy.
113 outlets told this the same way.
8 of 10 outlets skipped it: iran threatens countries that cooperate with the US over flights.
The Jerusalem Post was read line by line by the Watchdog: 4.6. See the score →
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UN speech and threats
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the 81st UN General Assembly that Iranians are “the victims of terrorism” by the U.S. and Israel and insisted Iran has “never ever been an aggressor.” Pezeshkian said, “We will never bow our head or bend at the knee,” as the lone delegate in the U.S. seats walked out during his remarks.
Pezeshkian also used the podium to argue that the U.S. and Israel were responsible for attacks on Iranian schools and a sports hall in Lamerd, which a U.N.-backed report recently said could amount to war crimes committed by the U.S. The White House responded to Pezeshkian’s speech by saying Anna Kelly, White House principal deputy press secretary, that “The Iranian regime has murdered thousands of its own people” and “executed acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Negotiations, intermediaries, and flights
Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told Iranian state TV that Iran is in “no hurry” to negotiate with the U.S. and said Iran’s conditions are “in the hands of Pakistan, Qatar and the other intermediaries.”
Rezaei also threatened that if “any country joins the United States in this adventure, its airports will no longer be able to operate flights,” as Iran warned partners over restricting Iranian flights.
Iranian officials said Baghdad, Iraq, Oman and Azerbaijan will no longer receive flights from Iran, and Four Iraq flights were being re-routed to Najaf, Iraq.
A Reuters account cited by Akhbar al-Khaleej said U.S. President Donald Trump described a “very productive meeting” between “Steve and Jared” and Iranian intermediaries, while Reuters reported the parties did not announce any change in their positions.
Security, sanctions, and escalation
U.S. Secret Service protection covered Iranian President Masoud Beshzeghan during his participation in UN General Assembly meetings in New York, while the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service also protected other Iranian representatives within the delegation.
A State Department spokesperson said the core Iranian delegation would be allowed to participate in the UN General Assembly’s high-level week, but their movements would remain restricted, and delegation members needed prior approval to move outside the UN complex.
Canada announced new sanctions targeting five senior Iranian security and government officials and five state-run entities, and the foreign ministry said the measures were “for their role in the Iranian regime's brutal repression of its population.”
The U.S. military blockade on the Strait of Hormuz redirected 115 commercial vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports, and the total increased by five ships since Monday, according to U.S. Central Command.