“We Will Never Bow Our Head”: Iran’s President Tells Trump at UN

Iran has warned that Tehran will not allow the United States or any other nation to use the Strait of Hormuz to “impose their aggressions upon us.” 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told world leaders today at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, “We cannot let some have free access and gain their interest from a waterway while at the same time using that waterway to impose their aggressions upon us, to impose insecurity upon us, to forbid us access to our own waterways.”

Pezeshkian also rejected pressure from US President Donald Trump, and declared that Iran would “never bow our head or bend at the knee”.

He said Iran wants to work with other countries towards what he called “true peace and stability”, while insisting that Tehran would not surrender under sanctions, military pressure or what he described as bullying.

“Iran extends her hand towards the world, we invite the world. We call the world, not out of weakness, but out of a deep belief in our own power and steadfastness to cooperate and collaborate,” Pezeshkian added.

His reaction comes after Trump told the General Assembly on Tuesday that he faced a choice between annihilating Iran or reaching a deal to end the war. The United States has said Iranian and US delegations have held talks through mediators on the sidelines of the UN gathering.

Pezeshkian also accused the US of aggression and said Iranians had “been the victims of terrorism”, which prompted the only US delegate in the room to walk out.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped significantly since the war began, and it has added economic pressure to an already volatile confrontation with consequences that affect the entire world.