Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a defiant speech at the United Nations on Wednesday as Tehran downplayed talks with the United States. He said his country's people had been the “victims of terrorism” by the United States. Delivering the rare wartime speech at the UN General Assembly, Pezeshkian displayed images of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and more than 150 schoolchildren killed in the opening days of the conflict. “We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” he said. “Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country.” Turning to the United States, Pezeshkian added: “Yes, they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee.” On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that President Donald Trump remained open to an agreement “that allows Iran to be what it should be, which is a great and prosperous country.” Rubio said the prospects for such a deal were hindered by Iran’s nuclear ambitions and “their support of terrorism.” If those policies continued, he said, Trump could exercise “a number of options,” including further military action. “It must be understood by Mr. Trump and those who seek to bully us that we are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force,” Pezeshkian said in his speech.
