Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian Iranian President's Address at the 80th UN General Assembly

Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian Iranian President's Address at the 80th UN General Assembly

On September 24, 2025 (2 Mehr 1404), His Excellency Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, delivered a speech at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In his remarks, the President emphasized the importance of universal moral principles, condemned foreign aggression and violations of international law, and reiterated Iran’s commitment to peace, regional cooperation, and multilateral diplomacy.

The full text of the speech is provided below:

… most merciful. Mr. Secretary-General, Madame President, distinguished representatives, ladies and gentlemen, the theme of this year, and I quote, "Better Together: 80 years and more of peace, development, and human rights," is in truth a summons to solidarity and to a shared vision of a brighter future. Our religious conviction as well as the call of the prophets rests upon the equality of the rights of all human beings. That which renders men more worthy is piety, namely truthfulness, wisdom, purity, and benevolence. The bedrock of all divine religions and of the human conscience is this golden maxim that which you would not approve for yourself do not approve for others. Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, once said, "Act towards others as you would have them act towards you." The prophet of Islam, peace be upon him, said, "None of you is a true believer unless he desires for others what he desires for himself."
The Sage Hillel, the elder expressed the essence of the Torah as such. "That which is hateful unto thee, do not do unto thy fellow." In the traditions of the orient, likewise, the central teaching is this very principle and secular schools of ethics grounded in reason and conscience have arrived at the same conclusion. Excellencies, is this the state of our world? Let us behold the past two years. The world in these two years was witness to genocide in Gaza, was witness to the destruction of homes and repeated violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity in Lebanon, was witness to the devastation of Syria's infrastructure, was witness to assault against the people of Yemen, was witness to the forced starvation of emaciated children in the arms of their mothers, was witness to the assassination of Iran's scientists, was witness to the surreptitious raids infringing upon the sovereignty of nations violating the territorial integrity of states and openly targeting leaders of people. And all of this under the full support of the most heavily armed regime in the face of the earth and under the pretext of self-defense.
Would you countenance such things for yourselves? Who is the disturber of the stability of the region and the world? Who is the actual threat against the international peace and security? Who is the violator of the golden moral maxim of mankind? Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, you all bore witness that this past June, my country was subjected to a savage aggression in flagrant contravention of the most elementary principles of international law. The aerial assaults of the Zionist regime and the United States of America against Iran's cities, homes, and infrastructures precisely at a time when we were treading the path of diplomatic negotiations constituted a grave betrayal of diplomacy and a subversion of efforts towards the establishment of stability and peace. This brazen act of aggression in addition to monitoring a number of commanders, citizens, children, women, scientists, and intellectual elites of my country inflicted a grievous blow upon international trust and the very prospect of peace in the region.
Should we fail to confront such perilous breaches of international norms, these aberrations shall spread to engulf the world? The assault upon nuclear facilities under safeguards and international supervision. The open attempt to assassinate leaders and duly constituted officials of UN member states. The systematic targeting of journalists and members of the press and the killing of human beings who solely by the reason of their knowledge and expertise are converted into military targets. Again, would you countenance such acts for yourselves? With this behavior, they have killed at the very least over 35,000 innocent civilians in Gaza. They have deprived them of food, drinking water, medication, and proper healthcare. Those who have perpetrated such crimes… This nation with a magnanimous spirit and then… The systematic targeting of journalists and members of the press and the killing of human beings who solely by the reason of their knowledge and expertise are converted into military targets.
Again, would you countenance such acts for yourselves? Those who have perpetrated such crimes must know that Iran, the most ancient continuous civilization upon the face of the earth, has ever stood steadfast against the tempests of history. This nation with a magnanimous spirit and an eternal will, has time and again demonstrated that it shall never bow before aggressors. And today as well in the face of the transgressors, it stands upright with reliance upon the power of faith and its national cohesion. In this twelve-day defense, the patriotic and valiant people of Iran laid bare before the aggressors, the fallacy and self-delusion of their arrogant calculations. The enemies of Iran unwittingly fortified the sacred national unity. The people of Iran, despite the most severe, protracted and crushing economic sanctions, psychological and medieval warfare and persistent efforts to sow discord, at the very instant, the first bullet was fired upon their soil rose in unison in support of their valiant armed forces.
And today, they continue to honor the blood of their martyrs. Here in the name of all Iranian people, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all personalities, nations, governments, and international and regional organizations that stood in solidarity with Iran during this war. Ladies and gentlemen, today after nearly two years of genocide, mass starvation, the perpetuation of apartheid within the occupied territories and aggression against its neighbors, the ludicrous and delusional scheme of a greater Israel is being proclaimed with brazenness by the highest echelons of that regime. The scheme encompasses vast swaths of the region. The map itself lays bare the true intentions of the Zionist regime, intentions that have of late been openly endorsed by its criminal prime minister.
None in the world is secure from the aggressive machinations of this regime. It is manifest that the Zionist regime and its sponsors no longer even content themselves with normalization through political means, rather they impose their presence through naked force and have styled it peace through strength. Yet this is neither peace nor power. It is nothing but aggression rooted in coercion and bullying. But we envision our powerful Iran alongside powerful neighbors within a strong region with a radiant future, a future in which we stand together against the grand project that imposes genocide, destruction, and instability upon the region. A future in which collective security is assured through genuine mechanisms of defensive cooperation and joint response to threats. A future in which human dignity and cultural diversity are cherished as foundational values. A future in which collective development is realized through joint investment and infrastructure and modern sciences.
A future in which energy, security, and the equitable use of vital resources from the pillars of economic stability. A future in which the environment is safeguarded for posterity. A future in which national sovereignty and the territorial integrity of states are regarded as non-negotiable principles. A future not in pursuit of peace imposed by force, but founded upon strength derived through peace. In such a strong region, slaughter and bloodshed shall find no place. It is for this very reason that my country has for many years been among the staunchest advocates of establishing a region free of weapons of mass destruction. Yet those who themselves possess the largest nuclear arsenals and who in flagrant breach of the NPT make their weapons even deadlier and more destructive have for years subjected our people to pressures on the basis of spurious allegations.
Last week, three European states having failed through a decade of bad faith and thereafter by supporting military aggression to bring the proud people of Iran to their knees at the behest of the United States of America sought by means of pressure, coercion, imposition, and manifest abuse to reinstate against Iran the security council resolutions that had already been terminated. In doing so, they set aside good faith. They circumvented legal obligations. They sought to portray Iran's lawful remedial measures taken in response to the United States withdrawal from the JCPOA and to Europe's breach and utter incapacity as a gross violation. They falsely presented themselves as parties of good standing to the agreement and they disparaged Iran's sincere efforts as insufficient.
All of this was in pursuit of nothing less than the destruction of the very JCPOA, which they themselves had once held as the foremost achievement of multilateral diplomacy. This unlawful measure, which has also met the opposition of certain members of the security council possesses no international legitimacy and will not garner the approbation of the international community. I hereby declare once more before this assembly that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb. We do not seek nuclear weapons. This is our belief based on the edict issued by the supreme leader and by religious authorities. Therefore, we would never sought weapons of mass destruction nor will we ever seek them. Whereas those who disturb the peace and stability in the region lies in Israel, but Iran is the one that is being punished for those actions.
There is a poem that roughly says something to the effect that someone in one side of the world does something to disturb the peace and someone else is punished for those actions. Ladies and gentlemen, the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes peace and stability. We believe that the future of our region and of the world must be built upon cooperation, trust, and shared development. In this framework, Iran supports the peace process between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia in hopes that its outcome shall be enduring and serve as a foundation for improved relations between these two neighboring states. Iran also hopes that the efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine may result in a just and lasting agreement between Russia and Ukraine and bring solace to the human suffering caused by this crisis.
Iran welcomes the defensive pact between the two brotherly Muslim countries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as a beginning for a comprehensive regional security system with the cooperation of the Muslim states of West Asia in the political security and defense domains. Finally, Iran condemns the criminal aggression of the Israeli regime against Qatar, which resulted in the martyrdom of a number of Palestinian and Qatari nationals and declares its support and solidarity with the government and people of Qatar. Ladies and gentlemen, true security is not achieved through force, but through confidence-building, mutual respect, regional convergence and multilateralism grounded in international laws.
Based on this foundation, a call upon all to practice listening to one another instead of raising voices to re-examine the intellectual premises of polarization and political violence, which today ensnares not only the international community, but also renders societies internally with tension and turmoil. To uphold as the common denominator of all beliefs and cultures, the principles that whatever we do not approve for ourselves, we should not impose upon others, instead of distorting concepts and narratives with biased interpretations to restore and rehabilitate the credibility of international laws, institutions, and mechanisms, and to commit to the establishment of a regional system of security and cooperation in West Asia.
Ladies and gentlemen, we Iranians have extended our power in the world, not by producing and employing nuclear weapons, nor by the slaughter of hundreds of thousands in the 20th century, nor by genocide and the imposition of starvation upon the children in Gaza in the 21st century, and not even through the historic empires of Iran, but rather through a culture of human fellowship and the message of empathy of universal sages such as Rumi, Hafez, Saadi, who eight centuries ago declared human beings or members of a whole in creation of one essence and soul. If one member is inflicted with pain, other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, the name of human you cannot pertain. Those criminals who bully by murdering children are not worthy of the name human being, and assuredly, they shall never prove to be trustworthy partners.
Relying upon its time-honored tradition of altruism and human fellowship, Iran is a steadfast partner and a trustworthy companion for all peace-seeking countries of friendship and a partnership grounded not in fleeting expediency, but in dignity, trust, and a shared future. We, the upright people of Iran by standing firm against lawless marauders have surmounted with honor the injustices, discriminations, and double standards imposed upon us. And today with an opportunity oriented outlook, we have transformed this historic achievement of the Iranian people into a platform for a leap toward a hopeful future. Let us together with you turn threats into opportunities.

I thank you.