Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian gave a defiant speech at the UN General Assembly in New York City on Wednesday, which he opened by holding up photos of children killed by US strikes in Iran.
“I come from an Iran where, in truth, they bombed a school. You see these children? These children perished under bombs, with weapons used by the United States and Israel. They were innocent, had committed no crimes,” he said while displaying photos of children killed in the US strike on an elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, on February 28, the opening day of the war.
Pezeshkian also held up photos of a sports hall in the Iranian city of Lamerd that was also hit by a US strike on the first day of the bombing campaign. According to multiple investigations, the sports hall was likely hit by a Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), a new missile that uses small pellets that hit targets far beyond the blast site, and 21 civilians, including seven children, were killed in the attack.
“Lamerd, one of the small cities in a province in Iran, a sports hall where children were busy playing. The United States, by using weapons with multiple warheads, targeted that sports hall,” Pezeshkian said.
The Iranian leader said that the US and Israel were committing “terrorism” against Iran while “labeling us as terrorists.” While acknowledging Iran was hit hard, he said Iran “did not bend the knee” and “did not bow our head.”
Elsewhere in the speech, the Iranian leader reaffirmed Tehran’s long-standing position that it does not seek nuclear weapons but that it would not give up its civilian nuclear program.
“Iran does not accept for nuclear technology to be at the exclusive disposal of some, of a handful. We will not— we will not bow our head and give up the right that is inherently ours. We say it clearly: no nuclear weapons, and no limitations to peaceful nuclear technology,” he said.
Pezeshkian went on to call out the international community for its silence about Israel’s nuclear weapons program, which is not officially acknowledged by either the US or Israel.
Atomic and nuclear bombs are in the hands of the Israeli regime, but the inspectors are requested to come to Iran. Israel has murdered savagely over 70,000 innocents in Gaza, but Iran, while behind the table of negotiation, was bombed,” he said.
“Israel has the bombs, has weapons of mass destruction, not a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty during her shameful life has not allowed a single inspection. But they are rewarded by all the means necessary for them to be able to bomb any capital in the region at will. I will repeat: the nuclear weapon is in Israel, but the inspectors in Iran. Israel kills, but Iran is subject to sanctions,” he added.
Pezeshkian’s speech came a day after Trump delivered his address to the General Assembly, during which he said he was considering “annihilating” Iran and plunging the country into “hell,” but also said he thinks a deal could happen after midterm elections in November.
Referencing Trump’s speech, Pezeshkian said his threats go “against the very essence and charter and the spirit of the United Nations.”
While striking a defiant tone, Pezeshkian said Iran was still open to diplomacy, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi held indirect talks with President Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, on the sidelines of the UNGA a day earlier.
