*Says “No Nuclear Weapons, No Limitations To Peaceful Nuclear Technology”
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has told the United Nations General Assembly that his country’s former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed “without any legal framework or reason,” as he accused the United States and Israel of violating international law in their military campaign against Iran.
Pezeshkian made the remarks on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, during his address to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, where he strongly rejected US President Donald Trump’s description of Iran as a terrorist state.
“We have been the victims of terrorism. I come from an Iran in which our esteemed supreme leader was assassinated without any legal framework or reason. I come from an Iran where, in truth, they bombed a school,” Pezeshkian told world leaders.
Khamenei was killed on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran. Iranian state media subsequently confirmed his death, while Trump publicly said Washington had worked with Israel to target the longtime Iranian leader.
At the beginning of his UN address, Pezeshkian held up photographs of children he said were killed during a US strike on a primary school in Minab on the opening day of the war.
“You see these children? These children perished under bombs with weapons used by the United States and Israel. They were innocent, had committed no crimes,” he said.
The Iranian president said the attacks also targeted universities, healthcare facilities, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure, arguing that such actions violated international law.
A UN-backed fact-finding mission reported earlier this month that it had found “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States committed war crimes in two February 28 strikes, including the attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in Minab. The Trump administration rejected the findings, while the US has not publicly accepted responsibility for the school strike and the Pentagon has yet to release the findings of its investigation. Iranian state media have reported a substantially higher death toll at the school than initial accounts.
Pezeshkian insisted that Iran had acted defensively after being attacked.
“We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” he said, adding that Iran responded militarily but did not deliberately attack civilian populations.
He said the United States and Israel had attacked Iran with advanced weapons but failed to force the country into submission.
“Yes, they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee. We did not bow our head,” he said.
His claim that Iran did not hit civilian populations is disputed. Reporting on the conflict has documented civilian casualties from Iranian retaliatory missile and drone strikes against Israel and US-linked targets in the region. Iran launched large-scale retaliation after the February 28 US-Israeli attack.
Pezeshkian also directly addressed Trump, saying economic sanctions, military pressure and threats would strengthen rather than weaken Iranian resistance.
“He must know that the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying,” he said.
“We will never bow our head or bend at the knee. Iran 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.”
His remarks followed Trump’s speech to the UN a day earlier, during which the US president said he faced a choice between reaching an agreement with Tehran or moving to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic. Trump nevertheless indicated that he believed an agreement remained possible.
Pezeshkian maintained that Iran had not initiated the current war and said Tehran remained prepared for negotiations.
“Iran has never, ever been an aggressor, has never started a war, and has always shown her commitment to the negotiating table,” he said.
“They impose the war on us but we have proven that we’re not afraid of fighting, of war, that is defensive in nature, and we will stand in defence of our beloved Iran, our homeland, until our last breath.”
He also rejected allegations that Iran was seeking to develop nuclear weapons, insisting that Tehran wanted nuclear technology solely for peaceful purposes.
“We will not bow our head and give up the right that is inherently ours. We say it clearly, no nuclear weapons and no limitations to peaceful nuclear technology,” he said.
Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is intended for peaceful purposes, while the United States and Israel have repeatedly raised concerns that Tehran could use its enrichment capabilities to develop a nuclear weapon.
Pezeshkian accused Western powers of applying different standards to Iran and Israel over nuclear weapons and inspections.
“The nuclear weapon is in Israel, but the inspectors in Iran. Israel kills, but Iran is subject to sanctions,” he said.
Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons but maintains a policy of nuclear ambiguity and is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Pezeshkian used that contrast to argue that restrictions placed on Tehran were discriminatory.
The Iranian president also addressed the continuing dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes.
“We cannot let some have free access and gain their interest from a waterway, while at the same time using that waterway to impose their aggressions upon us, to impose insecurity upon us, to forbid us access to our own waterways,” he said.
The strait has become a major point of contention in negotiations aimed at ending the nearly seven-month conflict. Iran has demanded an end to US military action and restrictions as part of discussions over restoring full passage through the waterway.
Pezeshkian warned that widening the conflict would not produce security and maintained that diplomacy offered the only sustainable solution.
His speech came a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicated through mediators on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The talks lasted about three hours and represented the first high-level US-Iran contacts in months. Trump later described the discussions as productive, although neither side announced a substantive change in its position.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, rejected Pezeshkian’s criticism of Washington’s human-rights record and pointed to Iran’s treatment of protesters, support for armed groups in the region and US concerns about its nuclear programme.
Pezeshkian also used his address to raise the Palestinian issue, describing the situation as “an open wound on the conscience of the international community” and what he called evidence of the failure of international mechanisms to protect civilians.
“We cannot speak of peace while ignoring Palestine. Lasting peace in West Asia is impossible without justice for Palestine,” he said.
A US representative was seen leaving the General Assembly Hall during the early portion of Pezeshkian’s address as he displayed photographs of Iranian casualties and accused Washington and Israel of attacks on civilians.
Pezeshkian concluded by insisting that neither military attacks nor economic pressure would compel Iran to surrender, while leaving open the possibility of negotiations with Washington if talks were conducted without threats or coercion.
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