President tells Trump Iran will never ‘bend at the knee’

At the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Iran's newly elected president Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a defiant address, vowing that Tehran would never "bend at the knee" to the United States. The speech came just days after Washington and Israel launched a full-scale military campaign against Iran. Amidst the escalating conflict, Pezeshkian accused the US of terrorism for the assassination of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, holding up a photograph of the late leader.

He emphasized that Tehran had never initiated a war, asserting that the resistance of the Iranian people would only grow stronger in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, and bullying.

Unlike his immediate predecessor, who had suggested the possibility of annihilating Iran during a UN speech, Pezeshkian made no mention of the potential for military action in his defiant remarks. Instead, he focused on the economic repercussions of the conflict, particularly the soaring fuel prices that have threatened to cost Trump's Republican party their control of Congress in the upcoming midterms.

Pezeshkian firmly stated that Tehran would not allow the Strait of Hormuz to be used for aggression against his country, contending that the US was exploiting the waterway to impose its aggression upon Iran.

The US had granted Pezeshkian a visa to attend the UN General Assembly, despite the fact that several members of his entourage were denied entry. The visa decision, coupled with Iran's defiant stance, underscores the heightened tensions between the two nations and the potential for the conflict to escalate further.