# Iran's president defies Trump at UN with war speech

> Masoud Pezeshkian accused the U.S. and Israel of stoking global instability while holding photos of children killed in strikes, directly contradicting Trump's claim that Iran seeks a peace deal.
- Title: Iran's president defies Trump at UN with war speech · CNBC
- Summary: Masoud Pezeshkian accused the U.S. and Israel of stoking global instability while holding photos of children killed in strikes, directly contradicting…
- Keywords: masoud pezeshkian, iran, united nations, donald trump, israel, war, nuclear program, diplomacy, business, finance, Iran's, president
- Source: CNBC — https://cnbc.com/2026/09/23/iran-united-nations-trump-israel.html
- Author: Kevin Breuninger
- Published: 2026-09-23T14:28:33+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: masoud pezeshkian, iran, united nations, donald trump, israel, war, nuclear program, diplomacy, business, finance
## Pezeshkian takes the UN stage
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a defiant speech to the UN General Assembly in New York City on Wednesday, blaming the U.S. and Israel for stoking global instability.
## A direct response to Trump
Pezeshkian's address was a fiery rebuke to President Donald Trump, who told the UN a day earlier that he was weighing whether to annihilate Iran after nearly seven months at war.
## Trump's peace deal claim disputed
Pezeshkian contradicted Trump's insistent narrative that Iran desperately seeks a peace deal likely to come right after the November third midterm elections.
## Iran frames itself as victim
Framing Iran as the victim of U.S. and Israeli aggression, Pezeshkian asserted his country will continue to fight back until its last breath and accused both nations of launching illegal attacks on civilians.

> Are we the sources of instability? We only seek to live independently.
## Photos of children killed in strikes
Pezeshkian began his speech by holding up photos of children he said were killed by U.S. and Israeli bombs, including a Tomahawk missile strike on a primary school in Minab that killed more than one hundred fifty people.
## UN fact-finding mission findings
The UN's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said it found reasonable grounds to believe the U.S. committed a war crime by launching indiscriminate attacks that killed or injured civilians, including the school strikes.
## Iran's conditions for diplomacy
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran laid out clear and transparent conditions for reviving diplomacy, including ending the U.S. naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman and ceasing acts of economic terrorism through sanctions.
## Iran's nuclear program stance
Pezeshkian said Iran will not bow its head or give up its inherent right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, maintaining it is not seeking nuclear weapons but asserting its right without limitations or anyone's permission.

> No nuclear weapons and no limitations to new peaceful nuclear technology.
## Key takeaway

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a defiant UN speech blaming the U.S. and Israel for global instability, contradicting Trump's assertion that Iran desperately wants a peace deal after nearly seven months of war.