Iranian President Pezeshkian Delivers Defiant UN Speech, Calls Iran 'Victim of Terrorism' While Trump Weighs Annihilation Threat as Hormuz Shipping Remains Below Prewar Levels

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23, 2026, delivering what multiple outlets described as a defiant speech in which he accused the United States and Israel of terrorism and declared Iran would never surrender to aggression, according to reporting from PBS, Foreign Policy, CNBC, and The Washington Post. Pezeshkian spoke one day after US President Donald Trump told the same chamber he was deciding whether to annihilate Iran after nearly seven months of war. Pezeshkian displayed photographs of dead children killed by American and Israeli bombs and stated Iran has been the victim of terrorism, not its perpetrator, directly rebutting Trump's characterization. He said Iran posed no threat to neighboring countries and insisted the Islamic Republic had never started a war, although he did not mention Iran-backed militant groups elsewhere in the region. The speech came as intermittent attacks continued in the Strait of Hormuz, where PBS noted commercial shipping remained below prewar levels. The Times of Israel reported on September 24 that some 60 commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on September 23, carrying the highest daily volume of crude oil since early July, about 22 million barrels, with roughly 40 coordinating with US military forces for protection, according to a US official speaking on condition of anonymity.

Pezeshkian's appearance marked the first time a world leader is believed to have addressed the UN General Assembly in person while their country is at war with the United States, according to ABC News. He told the assembly that Iran is ready for dialogue and diplomacy but will not accept the language of force, directly calling out Trump by name. A UN fact-finding mission reported in September that there are reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in the February 28 strikes that initiated the conflict, a passage during which the US delegate left

Sources

Sources: PBS NewsHour, Foreign Policy, CNBC, The Washington Post, ABC News (Australia), Asia Pacific Report (all September 23-24, 2026). Shipping figures from The Times of Israel liveblog (September 24, 2026).