Iran’s Pezeshkian slams ‘terrorist’ US but extols diplomacy in UN speech

In a defiant speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has delivered a sharp rebuke to a threat by US President Donald Trump from the same rostrum the previous day to annihilate the country, but left the door open for diplomacy to end nearly seven months of war.“The US president called us terrorists but we are the victims of terrorists,” Pezeshkian said on Wednesday.During his speech, Pezeshkian held up a picture of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – assassinated in a joint US-Israeli strike at the start of the war in February – as well as photos of schoolgirls killed in an alleged US air attack on their school in the southern city of Minab.“They hit us, but we did not bow our heads or bend the knee,” Pezeshkian added.As the Iranian president began his speech, an official from the US delegation walked out of the vast hall. The Israeli delegation also boycotted the address.“[Trump] must know that the resistance of the Iranian people will only grow in the face of sanctions and increased pressure and bullying,” Pezeshkian said.Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian holds up a picture of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who w...