Pezeshkian fires back at Trump's 'annihilate' threat, leaves door open for talks
Iran's president challenges US 'terrorist' label at UN, signals willingness to negotiate as Trump's envoys claim momentum toward a deal.
What to know
- Pezeshkian confronted Trump's threat to 'annihilate' Iran by inverting the terrorist charge—calling the US and Israel the true perpetrators—while holding up photos of civilian casualties to underline the human cost.
- Despite fiery rhetoric denouncing Trump's 'bullying,' Pezeshkian explicitly opened the door to diplomacy, signaling Iran seeks an exit from nearly seven months of war.
- Trump's negotiators reported momentum in talks, claiming a productive three-hour meeting and asserting a settlement is within reach, even as Trump continued public threats.
- The US delegation walked out of Pezeshkian's speech and Israel boycotted it entirely, underscoring the deep divide alongside claims of negotiating progress.
“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”
Donald Trump, President of the United States · Al Jazeera ↗ · Sep 21
Masoud Pezeshkian President of Iran
Donald Trump President of the United States
Jared Kushner Trump's son-in-law, lead US negotiator with Iran
Steve Witkoff Trump's negotiator with IranNegar Mortazavi Senior fellow, Center for International Policy
How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesvideosposts
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AnalystPezeshkian signals appetite for diplomatic off-ramp
Negar Mortazavi, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, assessed that Pezeshkian's speech showed Iran wanting out of the war and keeping the door open to diplomacy, possibly with flexibility on a post-June Memorandum agreement different from what Trump previously pursued.
“Iran wants a way out of this war. They've kept the door to diplomacy open.”
— Negar Mortazavi -
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US delegation official walks out; Israel boycotts Pezeshkian speech
As Pezeshkian began his address, an official from the US delegation walked out of the assembly hall. The Israeli delegation entirely boycotted the speech.
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background
Pezeshkian signals openness to negotiations despite defiance — While condemning Trump's "bullying" and "language of force," Pezeshkian also extended an olive branch, saying Iran would cooperate globally. He stated: "Iran extends its hands towards the world" and "We invite the world and call to it, not out of weakness, but out of a deep belief in our own power."
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Pezeshkian challenges US 'terrorist' label in defiant UN speech
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the UN General Assembly, directly rebutting Trump's threat and characterization. He held up photos of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and schoolgirls killed in alleged US air attacks, and declared: "The US president called us terrorists but we are the victims of terrorists."
“The US president called us terrorists but we are the victims of terrorists.”
— Masoud Pezeshkian -
first by Al Jazeera, 8h ago
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first by NDTV, 12h ago
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background
Trump reports productive three-hour meeting with Iranian negotiators — Trump told reporters at the UN that his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who are leading negotiations with Tehran, had held a three-hour meeting with Iranian officials. Trump said the meeting was "very good" and "very productive," adding he believed there was "a lot of momentum" towards an agreement.
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background
Trump threatens to 'annihilate' Iran at UN — US President Donald Trump delivered an address to the UN General Assembly in which he threatened Iran's destruction, asking: "Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly?" He also characterized Iran as terrorist and stated "Iran will never have a nuclear weapon."
