Pezeshkian condemns Western nuclear double standards at UN

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Western governments of applying double standards regarding nuclear weapons and regional security during his address to the United Nations General Assembly.

Stating that silence prevails over Israel’s nuclear arsenal, Pezeshkian said the Tehran administration is subjected to continuous inspections and sanctions.

Emphasising that the atomic bomb and other weapons of mass destruction in the region are under Israeli control, Pezeshkian said: “I repeat: The nuclear bomb is in Israel, the inspectors are in Iran. Israel kills, Iran is subjected to sanctions.”

Recalling that Israel is not a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and has shut its doors to international inspectors, the Iranian President noted that billions of dollars in weaponry continue to flow to the Tel Aviv administration regardless.

Displaying photographs from the rostrum of Iranians killed in US and Israeli bombardments, Pezeshkian said: “We are not terrorists, we are victims of terror.”

Stating that Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the war, Pezeshkian maintained that Tehran’s senior leadership was targeted without any legal basis or evidence.

President Pezeshkian at 81st UNGA:

I come from Iran, where the US assassinated our Leader

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Declaring that the US military bombed the Shajara al-Tayyiba Elementary School in the city of Minab, Pezeshkian brought before the General Assembly the children killed in that attack, as well as the scientists, women, and children who died in a sports hall struck by cluster munitions in the city of Lamerd. Stating that Iran retaliated against the attacks, Pezeshkian noted that Tehran’s forces did not target civilians.

Stating that Iran does not seek regional hegemony and has not launched a war against any neighbour in the past 200 years, Pezeshkian said they developed their military capabilities for deterrence rather than offensive purposes.

Explaining that they built defence systems to show that bombing Iranian cities will not go unanswered, Pezeshkian said: “We say clearly that we will not ask permission from anyone to defend our country.”

Emphasising that the Tehran administration cannot be forced into surrender through the pressure of war, the Iranian President said the door to negotiations remains open, though they will not compromise on their right to defence.

Addressing the peaceful nature of their nuclear programme, Pezeshkian said this technology cannot remain the exclusive privilege of select nations.

Noting that nuclear energy is a vital requirement across fields ranging from medicine to agriculture, and industry to electricity generation, Pezeshkian stressed that they adhere to the principle of “neither nuclear weapons nor deprivation of nuclear knowledge”.

Stating that they do not view nuclear weapons as a security element, Pezeshkian said the issue cannot be resolved by military methods, adding that the solution lies in an agreement that protects the legitimate rights of the Iranian people and provides international guarantees for peaceful activities.

Turning to developments in the Strait of Hormuz, Pezeshkian announced that while Tehran ensures the security of the waterway, it will not remain silent if its own rights of navigation are obstructed.

Accusing Western nations of dispatching weapons to the region through the same corridor while blocking routes to Iranian vessels, Pezeshkian said the permanent deployment of foreign navies in the region will not bring maritime security.

Stating that lasting peace cannot be established in West Asia without a just resolution to the Palestinian issue, Pezeshkian said people displaced from their land and whose homes are bombed are exercising a legitimate right to self-defence, adding: “You cannot call someone a terrorist when they defend themselves.”

Stating that regional problems must be resolved without foreign intervention, Pezeshkian stressed that alliances forged with any foreign power must not be turned into a pretext for war against neighbours.

Adding that economic sanctions have turned into a mass weapon that directly strikes civilians and the poor, Pezeshkian warned that operating international law solely in the interest of the powerful will fuel global instability.

The Iranian President concluded his address to the General Assembly with the words: “Either we establish security together, or we endure insecurity together. Peace that is not for everyone is not peace; justice that does not encompass everyone is not justice.”