President tells Trump that Iran will never 'bend at the knee'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has delivered a defiant speech at the United Nations General Assembly, stating that Tehran will never "bend at the knee" to US threats. According to Middle East Eye, Pezeshkian directly addressed US President Donald Trump, saying that the Iranian people will not bow to pressure and that resistance will only increase in the face of sanctions and bullying.

Pezeshkian accused the US of terrorism, specifically mentioning the assassination of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the conflict, as reported by Al-Monitor and Channel News Asia. The Iranian president also expressed openness to diplomacy to end the conflict, but warned that Tehran would not accept the language of force, as stated by The Korea Times and South China Morning Post.

The speech was given during a time of ongoing conflict between Iran and the US, with Israel also involved, and amid tensions over Iran's nuclear programme. According to Middle East Eye, the conflict began with US and Israeli air strikes in February and has since pulled in several other countries, including Arab Gulf states, Yemen, and Lebanon. The US delegation walked out at the start of Pezeshkian's speech, as reported by The Korea Times.

Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, Middle East Eye, Channel News Asia, The Korea Times, South China Morning Post — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.