Iranian President Says Tehran Will Not Surrender, Calls for Diplomacy at UN

UNITED NATIONS — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that Iran would not surrender in its ongoing war with the United States, while calling for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the conflict.

Addressing the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Pezeshkian accused the United States and Israel of attacking Iran and said his country had acted in self-defence. He described Iranians as victims of what he called terrorism and rejected accusations that Iran was a terrorist state.

“We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” Pezeshkian said, according to The Associated Press.

Pezeshkian also directly addressed US President Donald Trump, who had warned in his UN speech a day earlier that he could “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if an agreement was not reached to end the war.

The Iranian president said Tehran remained prepared for negotiations but would not accept what he described as the language of force.

“We are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force,” Pezeshkian said.

His remarks came after US and Iranian officials held indirect discussions on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Trump said the meeting between his envoys and Iranian officials had been productive, while Iranian officials described the contacts as part of existing diplomatic efforts mediated by Qatar.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran’s negotiating position remained unchanged, including demands that Washington lift its blockade of Iranian ports and release frozen Iranian assets.

The Iranian president’s address came as tensions continued around the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important waterway that handled a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the conflict.

Pezeshkian said Iran could not be expected to accept restrictions on its access to the waterway while foreign military forces remained deployed in the region.

The conflict has also disrupted commercial shipping and contributed to wider concerns over energy supplies and regional security.

Pezeshkian’s speech marked a rare wartime appearance by an Iranian president before the UN General Assembly, highlighting the continuing diplomatic efforts surrounding the conflict and the sharp differences between Washington and Tehran over how it can be brought to an end.