Iranian president vows to fight ‘until our last breath’

Iran’s president yesterday said his people have been “victims of terrorism” by the United States, delivering a rare wartime speech at the UN General Assembly a day after President Donald Trump said he may “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal isn’t reached soon to end the nearly seven-month war.

The defiant speech by President Masoud Pezeshkian marked a striking instance of a foreign leader addressing the world body while their country is at war with the host nation. While defending his country, Pezeshkian held up large photos of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the more than 150 Iranian schoolchildren killed on the first days of the war.

“We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” Pezeshkian said at the General Assembly. “Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country. And we defended ourselves with utmost strength. America and Israel attacked us.”

He added of the United States: “Yes they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee.” Toward the end of his speech, Pezeshkian called out Trump by name.

“It must be understood by Mr Trump and those who seek to bully us that we are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force,” he said.

Shortly after, both US and Israeli officials blasted the speech, saying that it was hypocritical for the Islamic Republic to present itself as the victims of the world.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters: “I don’t know what standing Iran has to lecture anyone on human rights or the international system when they habitually violate it.”

Arriving in New York under heavy security and scrutiny, Pezeshkian – who, within Iran’s political landscape, is considered a moderate politician – addressed world leaders a day after Trump used the same stage to mull whether to massively escalate a war that has already spiralled out of control.

“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said in his wide-ranging address Tuesday. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world. Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”

Hours after those stunning threats, Trump told reporters that his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met for about three hours with the Iranian officials on the sidelines of the annual gathering. But he offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchange.

“It was a very good meeting,” Trump said. The president later added that the Iranian officials were “not the highest level, but it’s something”. Also on Tuesday, Rubio said Trump is open to meeting with Pezeshkian while he’s in New York.