Iran’s president tells Trump it will never ‘bend the knee’

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has declared Iran will never "bend the knee" following the seven-month conflict with the US and Israel. He maintained a stance for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis during his address to the UN General Assembly, after US President Donald Trump threatened to "annihilate" Iran if a deal is not reached.

Pezeshkian warned that the Iranian people's resistance would only intensify in the face of sanctions, pressure, and bullying. He emphasized that any deal must include an end to the US blockade preventing Iranian ships from using the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Pezeshkian also rejected the US description of Iran as terrorists, stating that Iran has been the victims of terrorism.

He displayed photos of over 175 civilian casualties, mainly children, killed in missile strikes on a school and sports complex. Iran's retaliatory attacks on Israeli and Gulf Arab states led to the US imposing a blockade on Iranian ports and ships in April. The two sides reached a preliminary agreement in June to end the war and reopen the strait, but it fell apart after Iran resumed attacks and the US reinstated its blockade.

Pezeshkian reiterated that Iran would not give up its civilian nuclear program and would not seek nuclear weapons. He urged the US to end the blockade and release frozen Iranian assets, conditions Iran has maintained since the start of the conflict.