TEHRAN – In his second address to the UN General Assembly since taking office in 2024, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US-Israeli war imposed on Iran earlier this year was a "great betrayal of diplomacy" that has crippled the prospect for regional peace

Pezeshkian stated that the recent assaults on Iran were not isolated events, but rather part of a pattern of Western-backed aggression designed to undermine the nation's sovereignty. The President held up a book titled "Killed by Israel" and flipped through pages showing some of the over 1000 children, women, and men murdered during Israeli strikes on civilian, military, and nuclear infrastructure.

“These attacked were carried out precisely as Iran was engaged in diplomatic negotiations, exposing the hypocrisy of Iran’s adversaries,” he stated. “This brazen aggression… dealt a heavy blow to international trust.”

Pezeshkian connected the illegal attacks against Iran to the ongoing crisis in Gaza, pointing out that Israel is committing genocide in the Palestinian enclave with full Western support. “The world has spent the past two years witnessing genocide in Gaza, the forced starvation of frail children, and the massacre of over 65,000 innocent people.”

Turning his criticism towards Europe, the president lambasted Germany, France and the UK for what he described as acting on Washington’s orders to illegally resurrect dead UN sanctions against Iran. He accused them of setting aside goodwill, circumventing law, and engaging in blatant abuse after failing to bring Iran to its knees through a decade of "bad faith" and support for military aggression.

“This illegal action… lacks international legitimacy and will not be welcomed by the international community,” he declared, describing the move as a desperate attempt to destroy the very nuclear deal (JCPOA) they once celebrated.

Regarding Iran's nuclear program, Pezeshkian reiterated the statements made a day earlier by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. “I declare once again… that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build nuclear weapons,” he said, grounding this position in both religious belief and a fatwa from the Leader. He contrasted this with the nuclear-armed states that possess the "largest arsenals" while accusing Iran.

The president juxtaposed Israel’s “delusional plan of ‘Greater Israel’” with Iran’s alternative vision for the region. He articulated a future built not on “peace through power,” which he equated with aggression, but on “power through peace.” This vision, he said, is based on collective security, human dignity, fair resource sharing, and an unshakeable respect for national sovereignty.

Pezeshkian also expressed Iran’s support for regional peace initiatives, including the process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and hopes for a just end to the war in Ukraine. He welcomed a recent defense pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as a potential foundation for a broader regional security architecture led by Muslim nations.

The heart surgeon-turned-president concluded his speech with the words of the renowned Persian poet, Saadi: "The children of Adam are limbs of one body... You who are unmoved by the suffering of others, it is not fitting that you be called human."