Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has rejected US President Donald Trump’s characterisation of Iran as a sponsor of terrorism, saying Tehran is itself a victim of terrorism.
“Yesterday, Trump said we are terrorists. We are not terrorists; we are victims of terrorism,” Pezeshkian told the 81st UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, referring to Trump’s address a day earlier in which the US president described Iran as the “number one sponsor of terror.”
Pezeshkian said Iran’s leader had been killed “without any justification", referring to the US-Israeli attacks against Iran that began earlier this year.
He also accused Israel of targeting neighbourhoods across Iranian cities and provinces and carrying out assassinations, describing such actions as “true terrorist” behaviour.
“The people of Iran have been defending their country for the past seven months,” Pezeshkian said.
"We have been the victims of terrorism. I come from an Iran in which our esteemed supreme leader was assassinated without any legal framework or reason. I come from an Iran where, in truth, they bombed a school," Pezeshkian said.
He said Iran had been attacked using the latest technology and weapons systems, but that the Iranian people had "stood steadfast" in the face of the assault.
Hormuz
Pezeshkian said Tehran would not allow the Strait of Hormuz to be used for aggression against his country.
"We cannot let some have free access and bolster their interests from the waterway while at the same time using that waterway to impose their aggression upon us," he said.
The Iranian president said that Iran has never started a war.
"Iran has never been an aggressor, has never started a war and has always shown her commitment to the negotiating table. They imposed the war on us, but we proved that we're not afraid of fighting," he said.
Iran's president struck a defiant tone, telling the US that Tehran would not "bend at the knee".
"US President Donald Trump must know that the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, and increased bullying. We will never bow our head or bend at the knee," Pezeshkian said.
Israeli genocide
The Iranian president accused Israel of conducting assassinations “like a terrorist group” and committing genocide in Gaza, while arguing that Israel does not abide by international law.
“Israel kills, Tehran gets sanctioned,” he said, arguing that the international response to Israeli military actions and sanctions imposed on Iran demonstrated a double standard.
He said the world cannot speak of peace while ignoring Palestine.
“Gaza remains an example of failure of international mechanisms to prevent civilian suffering,” he said, adding that as long as occupation, aggression and injustice persist in the world, resistance will continue.
Nuclear technology
Pezekshian said Tehran’s defensive systems have been built so that no one can think that the bombing of Iranian cities will go unanswered.
“We do not accept nuclear technology being at the exclusive disposal of a handful; we need nuclear technology, not nuclear weapons,” he said.
