Pezeshkian tells UN Iran ready to negotiate without 'language of force'

US delegation walks out at start of Pezeshkian’s speech

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday that Tehran is ready for dialogue but rejects the “language of force,” accusing the United States of being the “true bully and terrorist in the Middle East.” The address, his first since the US and Israel launched an all-out war on Iran, came days after Iranian and US envoys met for three hours on the assembly’s sidelines in the first such talks since June.

Speaking in New York, Pezeshkian repeatedly vowed that Tehran would never “bend the knee” to America. But he also extended an opening: “It must be understood by President Trump and those who seek to bully us that we are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations but without the language of force.”

On Tuesday, Trump had told the General Assembly he was weighing whether to “annihilate” Iran, but went on to hail renewed talks between Tehran and Washington’s negotiators. A surprise three-hour meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff on the sidelines of the assembly was regarded as constructive by both sides. It was the first such meeting since June. The fact that the talks lasted three hours suggests some progress was made. The diplomatic activity did not, however, prevent the US delegation from walking out at the start of Pezeshkian’s speech.

Pezeshkian accused Washington of “terrorism” for assassinating Iran’s former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the start of the war. He held up photographs of Khamenei and what he said were more than 150 schoolchildren killed in the conflict’s opening days, then insisted Tehran had never started a war. He added: “In today’s world, those that are unable to defend themselves will be trampled upon.” Iran has repeatedly targeted US allies in the region since the start of the war. He questioned why “Israel kills, yet Iran is subject to sanction,” and added that Iran “did not seek special treatment but wanted equal rights.”

On the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway intermittently blockaded since the start of the war, Pezeshkian conveyed the impression that he was focused on winning the support of Iran’s Arab neighbors for the proposals Tehran has drawn up for the waterway’s future. He said Iran could not tolerate the strait being used to transport arms that could then be used against it, a statement that suggests Iran will demand the right to inspect ships passing through in any future arrangement. He said Iran’s goal was to “live independently.”

Iran has set seven preconditions for returning to talks and, in a development of the past 48 hours, said the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened within seven days if those conditions are met. A likely requirement is that commercial shipping enter the strait through a sea lane mainly in Iranian waters and under Iranian rather than Omani control.

Published figures suggest fewer than five identifiable tankers a day are making the crossing of the intermittently blockaded Strait of Hormuz, a level that has helped drive global energy prices higher. The blockage is compounded by uncertainty over the Iranian-backed Houthis’ control of a second energy chokepoint, the Bab al-Mandab strait between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Pezeshkian insisted that Iran has the right to pursue a peaceful civil nuclear programme but does not want to build nuclear weapons. He repeatedly argued that the answer to regional security lay in agreement within the region and not with outsiders such as the US. Iran did not see its neighbours as security rivals, he said, but as partners in security.

His attendance in New York had been in doubt because it was unclear whether the United States would issue him a visa. Washington ultimately granted the permit but denied visas to several members of his entourage.

In Tehran, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei confirmed the talks had taken place but stopped short of confirming any shift in Iran’s stance. The interaction, he said, was conducted through Qatari mediation and was aimed at conveying Iran’s conditions: the end of the war “in all its dimensions,” the cessation of US aggressive actions, an end to the naval siege and the economic war, and the release of Iranian assets. Aware of the potential domestic backlash, he added that Iran’s conditions had been conveyed.

Iran is under intense sanctions pressure, and a US naval blockade is making it nearly impossible for Tehran to export oil, cutting off a vital source of foreign currency. On Wednesday, Iran’s civilian aircraft faced a potential worldwide grounding because of the threat of US secondary sanctions on any entity engaging with Iran’s civilian fleet. Iranian officials negotiated frantically with neighbouring countries to try to maintain an air bridge, but it appears that Oman and Iraq have been forced to close their airspace to Iranian civilian planes.

The United States is under its own pressure. Republicans face midterm elections in November and are working to redirect the domestic political agenda away from a conflict that Americans think they are losing. There is little sign that Trump wants to relaunch a full-scale war with Iran or with the Houthis, and the US side is under pressure to bring down oil prices and increase refined-oil availability before the vote.