“I had prepared a speech to present to you; yesterday (22 September, ed.) the president of the United States defined us as terrorists. We were victims of terrorism”. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during his speech to the UN general assembly decided to attack Washington and claim the sovereignty of his country which has been at the center of a conflict since 28 February 2026.
The photos and the United States leave the room
“I come from an Iran in which our esteemed Supreme Leader (former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, ed.) was assassinated without any legal basis or reason”, began the Iranian president who then showed a photograph of the late leader. Pezeshkian then continued his speech by remembering the innocent victims of the American and Israeli bombings: the politician brought out an image that immortalizes the girls of Minab elementary school. On the night of February 28th (it was morning in Iran) the institute was hit by the US offensive which, according to a reconstruction of New York Timeswould have made “an aiming error”. The target, in fact, was an adjacent Pasdaran base.
US delegation leaves the assembly as Pezeshkian speaks at the UNGA. pic.twitter.com/C4tbNZpAxt
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 23, 2026
The sequence of photographs and the Iranian president’s frontal attack seemed too much for the US delegate sitting in the chamber following his speech. The official therefore got up, took his briefcase and left the UN assembly. There were also references to Tel Aviv: “Israel kills, but Iran is subject to sanctions. It’s a real tragedy which, if you heard it, would at least arouse hilarity: they kill, we suffer sanctions, we are punished”.
“We seek energy for progress, not nuclear weapons”
“We say it clearly: no nuclear weapons and no limitations on peaceful nuclear technology; our peace will not be born on the battlefield,” Pezeshkian said. “We seek energy for progress. For years, our nuclear technology has been the subject of labels – centrifuges, international sanctions and more – however, for our country, nuclear technology for peaceful purposes is an integral part of our progress,” the Iranian president continued. Who reiterated: “Iran does not accept that nuclear technology is at the exclusive disposal of a small circle of a few; we will not accept it. We will not bow our heads nor give up a right that intrinsically belongs to us.”