UN General Assembly

Iranian President at the UN: We Are Victims of Terrorism

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the UN General Assembly this afternoon.

"The US President describes us as terrorists. We are the ones who are victims of terrorism," he said, according to several media outlets.

"I come from an Iran where our Supreme Leader was executed without a legal framework or cause. I come from an Iran where a school was bombed," he continued, holding up images of the girls' school that was bombed in February.

The US delegation walked out of the hall in protest. The Israeli delegation's seats were already empty before the speech began.

Pezeshkian further stated that Iran will not yield to military force but is ready for diplomacy and negotiations. 

 Analyses: Trump tries to make voters forget Iran—and Iran forget the election

In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Trump postpones his "very important decision"—whether to strike a deal with or "destroy" Iran. By stating that an agreement will likely be finalized after the midterm elections, Trump is attempting to buy time with both voters and Iran, according to analyses by CNN, Sky News, and DN.

Sky News correspondent Mark Stone points out that there is a simple explanation for why Trump wants everyone to believe a deal will be reached the day after the election.

"Well, they aren't making a deal right now. So he has to reframe the whole thing a bit, doesn't he?"

DN’s Ingmar Nevéus writes that Trump is delivering a sort of defensive speech aimed at his own voters, and is trying to remove the war as an election issue on the domestic front. "Braggadocio and death threats voiced alongside invitations to strike advantageous deals. And there is little indication that the tactic works simply because it is repeated on the UN stage," he writes.

Writing for CNN, Stephen Collinson notes that it is not just about the voters—Trump also wants to show Iran that he is immune to pressure, since he is not on the ballot himself and will therefore remain in office after the election, regardless of the outcome.