The Iranian president refuses to surrender to American pressure and accuses Trump of a bullying mentality

In his speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared that Tehran “will never surrender” to American pressure, and accused his American counterpart, Donald Trump, of adopting a “bullying mentality,” after his latest threat before the United Nations on Tuesday, to “annihilate” Iran.

In his speech before the General Assembly, which includes 193 members, Pezeshkian focused on the American blockade of Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passed before the war.

He said, "Not everyone can benefit from the Strait of Hormuz and we are deprived of access to shipping through this sea lane. The permanent proliferation of enemy fleets and the expansion of the scope of war will not lead to peace."

"The Iranian people will not yield to pressure," he added.

Pezeshkian accused Washington of "terrorism" against the backdrop of the assassination of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, "without any justification or legal framework."

He addressed Trump by saying, "He must know that the Iranian people's resistance will escalate in the face of sanctions, increasing pressure, and escalating bullying. We will never lower our heads, and we will never kneel."

Iran wants to impose its control over the strait and collect fees from ships that use it. Washington rejects this and says that the strait must remain completely open to international navigation.

Trump said on Tuesday that he had prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and that he was capable of "annihilating the Islamic Republic" if an agreement could not be reached to end the war.

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On Wednesday, Pezeshkian stressed Iran's position and that it does not seek to possess nuclear weapons.

Pezeshkian arrived in New York on Tuesday, where US envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who informed him of Tehran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state television.

The official Iranian Radio and Television Corporation quoted Araqchi as telling Witkopf that Tehran's demands include "the immediate lifting of the US naval blockade, the urgent payment of all frozen Iranian assets, and an end to the war on all resistance fronts."

Witkoff later explained in a post on the X platform that the talks took place between the two parties through mediators throughout a large part of the day.

Also present in the hall was Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who participated in negotiations with Tehran before they stopped in June.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei said that Tehran conveyed its conditions during a two-hour exchange of messages with Washington through a Qatari intermediary.

"Hard effort"

Regarding the ongoing discussions between the United States, whether direct or indirect, in New York, a senior Iranian official said that Iran and the United States are still very far apart on how to end their war, but diplomatic efforts must continue, according to Reuters.

The senior Iranian official, whose identity was not revealed by Reuters, said, “Tehran is studying Washington’s response to its peace proposals, which give priority to lifting the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.”

The official added, "There are still many differences between the Iranian and American positions, but diplomatic efforts are continuing."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Wednesday that concluding an agreement with Iran would require “hard effort” for a while, adding that Trump also had military options.

Fighting over the Golan

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The Syrian file also witnessed controversy on Wednesday, after Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa stressed before the United Nations General Assembly that the occupied Golan would remain “Syrian territory.”

Al-Sharaa said in his speech on Wednesday, "No fait accompli attempts can affect the legitimacy of our state, the rule of our law, and the enforcement of international law. The Golan will remain Syrian territory."

Al-Sharaa stressed that "all annexation measures are invalid and annulled by the force of Security Council Resolution 497" issued in 1981, which considered Israel's decision to annex lands in the Syrian plateau "null and void."

Israel occupied parts of the Golan Heights in the June 1967 war, and announced its annexation in 1981. After the United States was for years the only country in the world to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, Colombia joined it last August.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz responded to Sharaa’s statements, saying that the Golan will remain under Israel’s sovereignty “forever.”

Katz said in a statement: “My clear response to the Syrian president, who made resonant statements from the United Nations podium: The Golan under Israeli sovereignty is an inseparable part of Israel forever.”

Katz also added in a statement, referring to the 1973 war and the diplomatic efforts that followed it: “We will not withdraw from Mount Hermon and the security zone, which were captured during heroic fighting in the 1973 defensive war, and handed over to Syria under the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, under clear conditions that were violated, after Syria turned into an Iranian base and a threat to Israel and its borders,” according to the Times of Israel newspaper.

After the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's rule in December 2024, Israeli forces penetrated outside the buffer zone adjacent to the Golan Heights, reaching Mount Hermon separating Lebanon and Syria, and announced their intention to establish a demilitarized zone in southern Syria.

Al-Sharaa said before the United Nations, “Israel is showing us its abnormality by encroaching on Syria, with approximately 500 air and artillery raids, more than 1,200 incursions, and approximately 300 arrests and detentions of Syrians, which threatens the stability of Syria and contradicts the direction of the entire world, and brings back to the memory of the Syrians a painful era, from which they barely got rid of.”

He added: "Our declared position still stands by adhering to the 1974 (disengagement) agreement and calling for the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces to the lines of December 8, 2024. We reject their constant attempts to impose a fait accompli, and their extended attacks in the region, as a disturbance of security and stability."

He stressed that "the historic opportunity for peace exists for those who want to live in peace, a just peace that preserves the rights of everyone."

"Fair peace"

The Russian-Ukrainian war had a strong presence in New York discussions and debates.

The United Nations Security Council held a meeting in this regard in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky said after a meeting with Trump on Tuesday that Washington and Kiev want to “end” the war before winter, expressing his country’s readiness to stop targeting Russian energy facilities if Moscow agrees to a similar step.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made statements at the Security Council session on the Russian-Ukrainian war, in which he affirmed Russia's readiness for negotiations aimed at a "just peace" in Ukraine.

He described what Europe is doing as only wanting a truce to give the Kiev regime “time” to rebuild its military capabilities.

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However, Washington and Beijing reject any regulations or restrictions that would restrict their leading national companies in the feverish race to control this technology.