World Leaders Gather for United Nations General Assembly as President Masoud Pezeshkian Delivers Wartime Address

Pezeshkian’s UN General Assembly Speech

Pezeshkian’s speech was delivered against the backdrop of an ongoing war involving Iran and the United States and Israel.

According to Reuters, the Iranian president said Tehran would not surrender to Washington but maintained that diplomacy remained a path toward ending the conflict. He also defended Iran’s position regarding peaceful nuclear technology and criticized Israel.

The speech was notably different from a routine diplomatic appearance because of the circumstances surrounding it.

Pezeshkian spoke only one day after Trump addressed the same General Assembly. In his September 22 speech, Trump warned Iran that the United States could “annihilate” the country if a peace agreement was not achieved, while also discussing the possibility of a diplomatic settlement.

That sequence gave Pezeshkian’s September 23 appearance additional significance. The Iranian president was addressing an international audience immediately after the American president had issued one of the strongest warnings of the current confrontation.

Iran President Holds Picture of Ali Khamenei at UN

One of the most striking moments of Pezeshkian’s speech came when he held up a photograph of Ali Khamenei.

The image was significant because Khamenei, Iran’s former Supreme Leader, has been a central figure in the country’s political system for decades. Pezeshkian’s decision to display his photograph during the UN speech connected the Iranian president’s presentation directly to the country’s political leadership and the losses suffered during the conflict.

Pezeshkian also displayed photographs of children who were killed during the war.

The Iranian president used the images to support his argument that Iran had been subjected to attacks and that Iranian civilians had suffered as a result.

Associated Press reporting published Wednesday said Pezeshkian described Iranians as victims of terrorism and said that Iran had defended itself after what he described as attacks by the United States and Israel.

These statements represent the Iranian government’s account of the conflict. Claims concerning responsibility for specific attacks and casualties remain matters of international reporting and competing narratives.

September 23, 2026 | 3:13 pm