The U.S. delegate at the United Nations General Assembly walked out of the chamber Wednesday as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the international community.
During his speech, Pezeshkian leveled harsh criticism against the United States over the ongoing war.
Responding to President Donald Trump’s description of the Iranian regime as “terrorists,” Pezeshkian claimed his people were the ones who were “victims of terrorism” at the hands of the U.S.
The Iranian president also held up numerous images of deaths he attributed to the United States, including Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and students killed at a school in Minab.
Speaking through an interpreter, Pezeshkian pushed back directly on Trump’s characterization.
“The United States president described us as terrorists. We have been the victims of terrorism,” he said. “I come from an Iran in which our esteemed Supreme Leader was assassinated without any legal framework of reason. I come from an Iran where, in truth, they bombed a school.”
Displaying photos to the assembly, he continued, “You see these children? These children perished under bombs, with weapons used by the United States and Israel. They were innocent, had committed no crimes.”
Pezeshkian also referenced Lamerd, a small city in one of Iran’s provinces, claiming a sports hall where children were playing had been targeted.
“The United States, by using weapons with multiple warheads, targeted that sports hall,” he said. “They martyred, assassinated our scientists, our men, women, and children, innocent children whom in truth had committed no crimes, no sins.”
He then turned the accusation back on the U.S.
“Those who are terrorists, and train and protect terrorists, describe us as such. We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” Pezeshkian said.
It was at that moment that the lone U.S. delegate in the chamber gathered their belongings and walked out.
The walkout came one day after Trump delivered his own address to the General Assembly, in which he floated the possibility that he could “annihilate” Iran, saying he had a “big decision to make.”
In his Tuesday speech, Trump laid out two very different paths for the Islamic Republic.
“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before — maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East, or even the world?” Trump asked.
“Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell, with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness for generations?” he continued.
The back-to-back speeches put the deep divide between Washington and Tehran on full display before the world body. Trump used his platform to label the Iranian regime as terrorists and pose a stark choice about the country’s future, while Pezeshkian used his to reject that label and accuse the U.S. of carrying out deadly attacks.
The U.S. delegate’s decision to exit the chamber mid-speech sent a clear signal as Pezeshkian pressed his case against America on the international stage.
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