Iran’s Pezeshkian Tells UN: ‘We Are Victims of Terrorism’
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday told the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly that the United States and Israel had attacked civilians, educational and medical facilities, and Iran’s infrastructure, saying Tehran had been the victim of terrorism, not its perpetrator.
In part of his remarks, he said US President Donald Trump’s comments yesterday describing Iran as a terrorist were wrong, adding that Iran itself had been the target of terror and attack. Referring to the killing of children in Minab and an attack on a sports stadium in Lamerd, Pezeshkian claimed those attacks were carried out with American weapons.
The Iranian president also said schools, hospitals, scientific centres, bridges and other public facilities had been targeted in the attacks, an act he said was contrary to international law. He stressed that Iran did not start the war, but had defended itself against the assaults.
Pezeshkian then centred his speech on the need to “rebuild trust” and criticised what he called double standards over Iran’s nuclear programme and Israel’s policies. He said that while Israel, in his view, possesses nuclear weapons and is not a member of the NPT, pressure and inspections have been directed at Iran.
He also described sanctions on Iran as a targeting of ordinary people, saying that if international law is enforced only within the interests of major powers, global mistrust will deepen. According to him, replacing diplomacy with sanctions and dialogue with war pushes the world towards greater insecurity.
The Iranian president concluded by saying that Tehran is not seeking a new war and wants peace, justice and shared security in the region. The UN General Assembly is held every year in New York with the حضور of leaders and officials from countries around the world, and is considered one of the most important international platforms for presenting countries’ political positions.
