Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks as he holds a picture of Ali Khamenei, former Supreme Leader of Iran, during the 81st United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, on Sept. 23, 2026. (Credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP)
Iran's president struck a defiant tone at the UN on Wednesday where he spoke for the first time since Washington and Israel launched an all-out war on his country, telling the U.S. that Tehran would not "bend at the knee."
"[U.S. President Donald Trump] must know that the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying. We will never bow our head or bend at the knee," President Masoud Pezeshkian said.
The United States delegation walked out at the start of Pezeshkian's speech.
The Strait of Hormuz, conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas before the war, has become a focus of tensions between Iran and the U.S.
"It cannot be the case that everyone benefits from the Strait of Hormuz while we are denied access to shipping through this waterway. The permanent deployment of hostile fleets and the expansion of the war will not lead to peace," Pezeshkian said.
Pezeshkian addressed the 193-member General Assembly a day after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke. Trump used his speech on Tuesday to make the case for his war on Iran, arguing he has prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and warning that he could "annihilate the Islamic Republic" if no deal is reached to end the conflict.