AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran's President, today, September 23, 2026, at the eighty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly, stated, "Yesterday, the US President declared that Iran is a terrorist. We are victims of terrorism. I come from an Iran whose leader they assassinated without any legal reason or proof."
He added, "I come from an Iran whose school they bombed. Look at the children of Minab, the children who were bombed and killed. Israel and America martyred our children with their weapons; our children had committed no sin."
The President, referring to the attack on the city of Lamerd, said, "Lamerd is a small city in Iran; our children were exercising in a sports hall. America bombed this sports hall with cluster bombs that split into several thousand pieces. They martyred our scientists, people, women, and children. Terrorists and breeders of terrorism label us as terrorists; we only defended ourselves; we are not terrorism."
The President, referring to the enemy's cowardly attacks, stated, "America and Israel attacked our country with the latest equipment, but our people powerfully defended their country. They attacked us, but we did not bow before them. We responded to their attacks, but we did not attack the people."
Pezeshkian continued, "They attacked our schools, hospitals, scientific centers, bridges, and infrastructure, which was against international law."
Iran Has Never Been the Initiator of War
He stated, "Now is the time to test your rationality instead of gambling on the illusions of others. Iran has never been the initiator of war and has always shown its adherence to the negotiating table. War was imposed on us, but we proved that we do not fear war to defend ourselves, and we do not flee from negotiation for peace, and we stand to the death to defend our beloved Iran."
The President, in another part of his remarks, criticizing the double standards of the international community, said, "Trust is not built with words; rather, it requires avoiding double standards. The atomic bomb and other weapons of mass destruction in this region are in the hands of the Israeli regime, but inspections are requested from Iran. Israel massacred 70,000 people in Gaza, but Iran was bombed at the negotiating table. Israel has an atomic bomb, is not a member of the NPT, has not allowed a single inspector into the occupied territories in its entire shameful life, but receives billions of dollars in free weapons and has immunity to bomb any capital it wants."
He added, "I repeat; the atomic bomb is in Israel, but the inspectors are in Iran. Israel kills, but Iran is sanctioned. Sanctions target the poor and innocent people and sacrifice the people to their sinister intentions."
Pezeshkian stated, "If we seek justice, friend and rival must be measured by the same standard, and human rights should not become a tool of geopolitical competition. Iran does not want a special privilege; it wants equal rights and accepts its responsibility too."
The President said, "Iran has clearly learned one truth in its long history; the world is dangerous without power, but a world that only understands the language of power will not have sustainable security. If trust among nations is destroyed, even the most powerful armies will not be able to create sustainable security."
He added, "If international law is only enforced when it is compatible with the interests of the powerful, more countries will conclude that they must rely only on their own power to ensure their security, and this will be the beginning of a more dangerous world for all of us."
Pezeshkian emphasized, "We should not allow the twenty-first century to become an era of return to power-based politics and the rule of the powerful. We should not build a world in which military power takes the place of legitimacy, sanctions take the place of diplomacy, assassination takes the place of politics, and war takes the place of dialogue."
The President said, "Iran maintains its power. We call the world not to another war, but to peace and justice; not out of weakness, but out of confidence in our own power and understanding of this truth that no one in this region will have security alone. We will either build security together or endure insecurity together."
He concluded, "We think of building a future in which security, justice, and human dignity are inalienable and common rights for all nations; a future in which no nation is marginalized, no voice is lost in the clamor of power, and no power has the right to determine the future of others on their behalf. An order worthy of the name international must be based on the equality of nations, justice, fairness, and the common will of humanity; because a peace that is not for everyone is not peace, and a justice that does not include everyone is not justice."
**************
End/ 345E
