President Masoud Pezeshkian is set to address this year's United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at a time when Iran continues to face a war of aggression launched by the United States and Israel seven months ago, a conflict whose wider regional ramifications have made it a major focus of international attention.
Wednesday marks the second day of the 81st UNGA session, which begins at 9:00 a.m. New York time. President Pezeshkian is the fifth world leader scheduled to address the session.
He arrived in New York late Tuesday local time, nearly a day after departing Tehran.
In remarks before his departure, Pezeshkian said he would use the UNGA session to convey to officials and people around the world the strength of the Iranian nation, as well as its grievances over the injustices it has suffered as a result of the two wars launched by Israel and the United States against Iran in less than two years.
“The UN General Assembly is a platform where we can make our positions, our grievances, and our strength heard by the world,” he said in Tehran on Tuesday.
Pezeshkian’s speech comes one day after US President Donald Trump’s address to the UNGA, during which Iran and developments related to the country were at the center of his remarks. Pezeshkian now has an opportunity to present Tehran’s views and approach on these issues from the same podium.
The Iranian president’s speech comes as the war continues and political consultations are underway over regional developments, the future course of the conflict and diplomatic avenues. Therefore, Pezeshkian’s positions on the war, regional developments, negotiations, the experience of previous agreements, external pressure and the rights of the Iranian people are expected to be among the key issues addressed in his speech.
