President tells Trump that Iran will never ‘bend at the knee’

This handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency shows Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian attending a meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek on September 1, 2026. Pezeshkian on September 1 vowed to match any US move to return to a June deal aimed at ending their war, as he prepares to meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at a regional summit. (Photo by Iranian Presidency / AFP) / – Israel OUT / === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / HO / IRANIAN PRESIDENCY” – NO ACCESS ISRAEL MEDIA/PERSIAN LANGUAGE TV STATIONS OUTSIDE IRAN/STRICTLY NO ACCESS BBC PERSIAN/VOA PERSIAN/MANOTO TV/IRAN INTERNATIONAL TV – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS === /

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, vowing Tehran would never “bend at the knee.”

Masoud Pezeshkian accused Washington of “terrorism” for assassinating former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the war.

He held up a photograph of the dead leader, before insisting Tehran had never started a war.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump had told the UN he was weighing whether to “annihilate” Iran, but went on to hail renewed talks between Tehran and Washington’s negotiators.

Pezeshkian made no reference to the talks to resolve the stalled war in his steely speech.

“(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,” he said.

Pezeshkian insisted that Tehran would not allow the Strait of Hormuz, which it has been intermittently blockaded since the start of the war causing global energy prices to spike, to be used for aggression against his country.

“We cannot let some have free access and bolster their interests from the waterway, while at the same time using that waterway to impose their aggression upon us,” he said.

Soaring fuel prices threaten to cost Trump’s Republicans their control of Congress in November’s midterms.

Pezeshkian’s attendance at the UN’s signature diplomatic event, in the heart of Manhattan, had been in doubt as it was unclear if the United States would issue a visa.

Ultimately Washington granted the permit, but denied visas to several members of Pezeshkian’s entourage.