Masoud Pezeshkian: Peace, Not Surrender — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Masoud Pezeshkian framed Iran as the target of "terrorism" in an exclusive Al Jazeera interview at the UN in New York, citing assassinations of Iranian officials, scientists and schoolchildren that he attributed to US and Israeli attacks.
- The Iranian president said increased US sanctions have done serious damage to Iran's economy, and argued that a series of broken agreements have destroyed Tehran's trust in Washington.
- Pezeshkian justified Iran's retaliatory strikes on US bases in the Gulf and the wider Arab region, contending that regional security should be managed by local actors rather than foreign powers.
- He called for Muslim solidarity anchored by Saudi Arabia as a counter to what he described as US-Israeli attempts to divide the region.
- The interview also touched on stalled US-Iran peace negotiations, tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, the wars in Gaza and Yemen, the new Syrian government, and Iran's relationships with Russia and China.
Why it matters: Pezeshkian fused two negotiating demands into one UN-stage message: sanctions relief tied to Iran's economic strain, and a regional security order led by local powers rather than Washington. For US and Gulf diplomats, that coupling — paired with justification of strikes on US bases and a Saudi-anchored Muslim solidarity pitch — narrows the room for a quick deal and raises the political cost of any accommodation for Tehran.
Ask SkimNews
