Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian left Tehran on Tuesday ready to stand strong for his nation at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Before boarding his flight from Mehrabad Airport he told reporters that Iran had come through recent challenges with its head held high. That resilience, he said, fills the country with dignity and pride. He promised to firmly defend Iran’s positions in every international forum he attends.
Pezeshkian is scheduled to deliver his speech on Wednesday. He intends to use the global stage to explain the difficulties ordinary Iranians face and to remind critics that the people have refused to back down despite what he called unfair pressure and injustice. His visit makes him the most senior Iranian official to set foot on American soil since the Middle East conflict erupted in late February after joint US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets.
The United States granted permission for part of the Iranian team to enter the country for the UN meetings, yet the group will operate under strict movement limits set by the State Department. The president’s own communications staff were refused visas. Presidential spokesperson Habibollah Abbassi described the decision as hostile, according to Iranian media.
The long running dispute over the Strait of Hormuz remains the flashpoint. Before the fighting, roughly one fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed through the waterway. Traffic has been badly disrupted after Iranian forces fired on commercial vessels and demanded the right to approve every passage. Washington has answered with a counter blockade of Iranian ports and heavier economic sanctions.
Meanwhile Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reached New York a day earlier. He spoke by phone with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and reviewed the assembly agenda. Araghchi told journalists that the main goal is to present Iran’s case for legitimacy and national rights on the world stage. He plans meetings with many foreign ministers and officials. Although earlier reports said Pezeshkian would lead the full delegation, a Foreign Ministry statement named Araghchi head of the diplomatic team. He left Iran on Sunday evening and stopped briefly in Qatar.
Iran has already sent its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to the United States through Qatari mediators, keeping the door open for possible talks even as both sides maintain firm public positions.
