BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 23. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian concluded his address to the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly by saying Iran would not submit to pressure, while stressing that Tehran remained open to dialogue and negotiations.
Addressing US President Donald Trump, Pezeshkian said pressure and sanctions would strengthen resistance among the Iranian people. He declared that Iran would “never bend the knee” and said Tehran would not accept what he described as the language of force.
At the same time, Pezeshkian said Iran remained prepared for dialogue and negotiations, presenting diplomacy as possible only without coercion.
The Iranian president also devoted part of his UN address to the Palestinian issue. He described Palestine as an unresolved issue for the international community and Gaza as evidence, in his view, of the failure of international mechanisms to prevent civilian suffering.
Pezeshkian argued that decades of international resolutions had failed to end occupation and violence. He said resistance would continue as long as what he described as occupation, aggression and injustice persisted.
He also argued that military action and siege could not eliminate resistance, saying people displaced from their land or subjected to attacks would continue to resist.
Pezeshkian’s speech came amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, with Trump having addressed Iran and the possibility of a deal in his own UN remarks a day earlier.
