Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has vowed to firmly defend Tehran’s position on the international stage as he travels to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly amid the ongoing conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States.
Pezeshkian, who departed Iran on Tuesday, said his appearance at the UN would provide an opportunity to present Iran’s position and what he described as the injustices faced by the Iranian people.
“We emerged with our heads held high, and this is a source of dignity and pride for all of us. Therefore, we will firmly defend our positions in international forums,” Pezeshkian said before his departure, according to footage broadcast by Iranian state television.
The Iranian president is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, where he is expected to focus on the conflict, Iran’s relations with the United States and the wider international consequences of the war.
Pezeshkian said Tehran would use the opportunity to communicate directly with the international community.
“We will make the best possible use of this opportunity to convey Iran’s plight to the international community,” he said.
He added that Iran would tell its adversaries that the country’s population had remained resilient despite what he described as “unfairness and injustices.”
Pezeshkian’s visit makes him the highest-ranking Iranian official to travel to the United States since the Middle East war began in late February with US-Israeli strikes against Iran.
His trip comes at a particularly tense moment in relations between Tehran and Washington, with the two countries on opposing sides of the conflict and facing a wider confrontation over Iran’s military and economic activities.
The United States has approved visits to New York for some members of the Iranian delegation despite the ongoing hostilities. However, the Iranian officials will face movement restrictions while in the country, according to the US State Department.
Iran’s presidential communications team was not granted permission to accompany Pezeshkian. The team was denied visas, a decision Iranian presidential spokesman Habibollah Abbassi described as “hostile”, according to local media reports.
The dispute over the Iranian delegation comes as Tehran and Washington remain locked in a broader confrontation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, is one of the world’s most important energy corridors. Before the war, about one-fifth of global hydrocarbon supplies passed through the strait.
The conflict has severely disrupted commercial traffic through the waterway. Iran has fired on commercial vessels and demanded that ships obtain its approval before passing through the strategic corridor, according to the report.
The disruption has heightened international concerns over energy supplies and the potential economic consequences of a prolonged confrontation in the region.
Washington has responded by maintaining a counterblockade of Iranian ports while increasing economic pressure on Tehran.
The Strait of Hormuz has therefore emerged as one of the central pressure points in the conflict, with the reopening of the waterway remaining a key issue between Iran and the United States.
Pezeshkian’s appearance at the UN comes against this backdrop of military confrontation, economic pressure and diplomatic tension. His address on Wednesday is expected to provide Tehran with a high-profile platform to present its account of the conflict and appeal to the international community.
The visit also places the Iranian president at the centre of a major diplomatic gathering at a time when the war has expanded beyond the immediate battlefield, affecting global energy markets, maritime trade and relations between major international powers.
As Pezeshkian prepares to address world leaders, the Iranian government is expected to use the UN platform to reiterate its position on the conflict, defend its actions and press its case against what it considers international pressure and hostility.
