PEZESHKIAN TELLS UN IRAN WILL NOT BOW TO US THREATS

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Tehran would "never bow its head" to United States threats, a day after US President Donald Trump told the same forum he could "annihilate the Islamic Republic" and "drive them into hell". Addressing Trump directly, Pezeshkian said the US leader "must know that the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying". He said Iran remains open to diplomacy but would not negotiate under threat. It was Pezeshkian's first address to the world body since the outbreak of war between Iran and the US and Israel.

The conflict began in February, when Israel and the United States attacked Iran amid negotiations over its nuclear programme. Two ceasefires have since collapsed, and the war has drawn in Arab Gulf states, Yemen and Lebanon. Pezeshkian opened his speech holding a photograph of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated on 28 February in the opening strikes of the US-Israeli attack. He also displayed photographs of Iranian children he said were killed in US air strikes, along with images of their graves.

The exchange at the UN General Assembly underlined the unresolved state of the conflict, with the leaders of Iran and the United States trading direct warnings from the same platform on consecutive days. Pezeshkian's remarks positioned Tehran as willing to talk while rejecting any negotiation conducted under duress. No date or format for renewed talks was confirmed. The assembly's proceedings continued, with further national addresses scheduled in the days following Pezeshkian's speech.