Iranian president responds to Trump’s ‘annihilation’ threat

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, a day after President Donald Trump used the same platform to threaten to "annihilate" Iran if negotiations fail, brand Tehran a sponsor of terrorism, and urge other nations to join the US in imposing complete economic isolation on Iran. Pezeshkian, the first foreign head of state to appear before the Assembly during a war with the US, said sanctions, pressure and bullying would only harden Iranian resistance, declaring, "We will never bow our head or bend at the knee," while insisting Iran remained open to negotiation but not to force. The US delegation walked out as he spoke, mirroring Iran's walkout during Trump's address the day before, according to RT.

Pezeshkian said Iran has been a victim of terrorism rather than a source of it, citing the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, the first day of a joint American-Israeli attack, and a missile strike on a school in Minab that killed 175 people, mostly children. He said Iran struck back forcefully without targeting civilians. He also insisted Iran must control the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of the world's crude oil trade passes, objecting to other nations profiting from the waterway while using it to threaten Iran.

Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, spent three hours in an impromptu sit-down with Steve Witkoff, an envoy for Trump, away from the main UN proceedings — their first contact since June, a session both governments termed constructive.

Summarized by PolitiKool from RT’s reporting. Read the full story at RT →