Iran’s president has pushed back hard against a threat from Donald Trump, telling the United Nations General Assembly that his country will “never bow our head or bend the knee,” even as he left the door open to a negotiated peace.
Masoud Pezeshkian’s remarks came a day after Trump warned he faced a stark choice: strike a deal that would let Iranians rebuild, or “annihilate the Islamic Republic” outright. Pezeshkian called that ultimatum a form of bullying, insisting that sanctions and pressure would only stiffen Iranian resistance. Still, he said Tehran was ready for dialogue “without accepting the language of force.”
Any agreement, he added, must include lifting the US blockade on Iranian ships attempting to use the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow Gulf passage through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments normally travel. “It cannot be the case that everyone benefits from the Strait of Hormuz while we are denied access,” he said. The US delegation walked out as he began speaking.
The conflict, which erupted in February when the US and Israel launched joint strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader and, according to Tehran, more than 175 civilians, has repeatedly disrupted Gulf shipping. A June ceasefire attempt collapsed within weeks. On the same day as Pezeshkian’s speech, an attack in the strait killed an Indian sailor, prompting India to call for safe passage to be restored.
Read the full report from the BBC for more details.
Source: Iran's president tells Trump it will never 'bend the knee' (feeds.bbci.co.uk).
Image: marinephotobank, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).