Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that Tehran would not surrender in its war with the United States but remained committed to diplomacy as a path toward ending the conflict.
The United States delegation walked out at the start of Pezeshkian's speech at the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City. The U.S. mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Strait of Hormuz, conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas before the war, has become a focus of tensions between Iran and the U.S.
"It cannot be the case that everyone benefits from the Strait of Hormuz while we are denied access to shipping through this waterway. The permanent deployment of hostile fleets and the expansion of the war will not lead to peace," Pezeshkian said.
Pezeshkian addressed the 193-member General Assembly a day after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke. Trump used his speech on Tuesday to make the case for his war on Iran, arguing he has prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and warning that he could "annihilate the Islamic Republic" if no deal is reached to end the conflict.
"Yesterday, the United States President described us as terrorists. We have been the victims of terrorism," Pezeshkian told the assembly.
He condemned U.S. attacks on civilian targets during the early stages of the Iran war, including a girls' school and a sports complex in the south of the country.
"Our innocent people are in fact the target of cowardly attacks... and we defended ourselves with strength," Pezeshkian said.
"America and Israel attacked us with the latest technology and equipment, and our people stood firm with strength," he added.
