President tells Trump that Iran will never 'bend at the knee'

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that Tehran would never bend at the knee to the United States, addressing the UN General Assembly for the first time since Washington and Israel launched an all-out war on his country. He accused Washington of terrorism for assassinating former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

What did Pezeshkian say about Trump?

Pezeshkian told the UN that Trump must know Iranian resistance will only increase in the face of sanctions, pressure and bullying. He said Tehran would never bow its head or bend at the knee, a message aimed directly at Trump after the president threatened to annihilate Iran a day earlier.

What did Trump say about Iran a day earlier?

On Tuesday, Trump told the UN General Assembly he was weighing whether to annihilate Iran, but went on to hail renewed talks between Tehran and Washington's negotiators. Pezeshkian made no reference to those talks in his steely speech Wednesday.

Pezeshkian accused Washington of terrorism for assassinating former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the conflict. He insisted Tehran had never started a war, telling world leaders that Iran had always shown its commitment to the negotiating table.

Does Iran consider itself the aggressor in the war?

"Iran has never ever been an aggressor, has never started a war and has always shown her commitment to the negotiating table. They imposed the war on us, but we proved that we're not afraid of fighting," Pezeshkian said.

He also disputed Trump's earlier accusation that Tehran was guilty of committing terrorism, saying Iran had instead been a victim of it. He told world leaders he came from a country whose supreme leader was assassinated without any legal framework, and where a school had been bombed.

What did Pezeshkian say about the Strait of Hormuz?

Pezeshkian also said Tehran would not allow the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has choked off since the start of the war and which has caused global energy prices to spike, to be used as leverage against the country.

"We cannot let some have free access and bolster their interests from the waterway, while at the same time using that waterway to impose their aggression upon us," he said.

Was Pezeshkian's visa to attend the UN in doubt?

Pezeshkian's attendance at the UN's signature diplomatic event in Manhattan had been in doubt, as it was unclear whether the United States would issue him a visa. Washington ultimately granted the permit, but denied visas to several members of his entourage.

Soaring fuel prices threaten to cost Trump's Republicans their control of Congress in November's midterms, though the US president has sought to dismiss the domestic impact of the war.