Defiant Pezeshkian rails against Trump, U.S., Israel in fiery U.N. speech
by Vaughn Cockayne · The Washington TimesUNITED NATIONS — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian cast the joint U.S.-Israeli war as an illegal and destructive venture that will ultimately fail in a defiant speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.
The 71-year-old leader said that while President Trump has categorized Iran and its ruling regime as terrorists, the Islamic republic was the real “victim of terrorism.” He held up an image of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first hours of the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.
He also referred to the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Iran, which also occurred at the start of the war. The U.S. attack killed 156 people, including over 120 children.
“Yes, they did hit us. But we did not bend the knee. We did not bow our heads. We responded. But we did not hit civilian populations,” Mr. Pezeshkian said. “They came into surrounding territories and targeted our universities, our healthcare centers, our schools, our hospitals, our infrastructure, all of it against international law.”
The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran as part of an effort to eliminate Tehran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons and inspire regime change in the Islamic republic.
The war has since spiraled into a struggle for control of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed in response to the attacks, and the conflict has grown to include Iranian proxy groups in Lebanon and Yemen.
Mr. Pezeshkian said Iran does not seek a nuclear weapon, but would not accept any restrictions on its ability to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.
“Peaceful nuclear technology is part of our inherent progress,” he said. “For our sick people, it is a cure and treatment. For the agricultural sector, it is food security for industrial advancement and progress for supply of electrical energy. Iran does not accept that the disposal of nuclear technology be at the disposal of some of a handful.”
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Iran’s nuclear program has remained one of the most consistent sticking points for U.S. diplomats during occasional negotiations with Iranian representatives.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio Wednesday said there can be no compromise on the nuclear issue and called again for a comprehensive agreement that includes a promise to stop all uranium enrichment in Iran.
“The number one issue the president highlighted … Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. Everything emanates from that,” he told reporters in New York.
Mr. Rubio seemed to downplay the importance of the Strait of Hormuz closure, which has significantly stressed international energy prices this year. Brent crude, the international benchmark for crude oil, stood at approximately $102 a barrel on Wednesday amid uncertainty about the prospects for a peace deal.
U.S. representatives, via mediators, held three hours of talks with Iranian delegates on Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Mr. Trump said the talks were productive and hinted at further discussions “soon.”
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Vaughn Cockayne
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