Iran's president tells the UN that his country wants to play a
'constructive role' in world affairs
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 [September 25, 2024]
By JENNIFER PELTZ and MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran’s new president signaled to world leaders
Tuesday that he wants to open a “constructive” chapter in his country’s
international relations — but he made clear that everyone else,
including the United States, needs to do their part.
In his first speech at the U.N. General Assembly’s annual gathering of
world leaders, Masoud Pezeshkian struck a somewhat more measured tone
than his predecessors often have in recent years.
“I aim to lay a strong foundation for my country’s entry into a new era,
positioning it to play an effective and constructive role in the
evolving global order,” said Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon who ran as a
reformer. He took office in July.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, opened the door last
month to renewed negotiations with the United States over his country’s
rapidly advancing nuclear program, telling Iran’s civilian government
there was “no harm” in engaging with its “enemy.” The United States,
under former President Donald Trump, withdrew in 2018 from Iran’s deal
with several Western nations to curtail its nuclear program in exchange
for getting sanctions lifted.
It remains unclear just how much room Pezeshkian will have to maneuver,
particularly as tensions remain high in the wider Middle East over the
Israel-Hamas war and as the U.S. prepares for a presidential election in
November.
Pezeshkian, like Iranian presidents before him, had sharp words Tuesday
for Israel. He accused the nation of “atrocities,” “colonialism,”
“crimes against humanity” and “desperate barbarism” as it fights Hamas
in Gaza and exchanges fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran backs both
militant groups.
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President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian addresses the 79th session of
the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters,
Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Israel’s heavy bombardment of Lebanon in recent days “cannot go
unanswered,” he said. He added that consequences would be borne by
governments he described as thwarting efforts to end the
“catastrophe” in the Middle East while calling themselves champions
of human rights, an apparent reference to the United States and
allied Western powers.
Washington has been attempting, with Egypt and Qatar, to get Israel
and Hamas to agree to a cease-fire deal. But it has been elusive,
and now the developments in Lebanon stand to complicate the efforts
further.
Directly addressing the American people, Pezeshkian listed a number
of Iranian grievances — from sanctions to the 2020 killing of
Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a Trump-era U.S. drone strike — and
then urged “all states pursuing a counterproductive strategy towards
Iran” to “learn from history.”
“We have the opportunity to transcend these limitations and enter
into a new era. This era will commence with the acknowledgement of
Iran’s security concerns and cooperation on mutual challenges,” he
said, appealing anew for sanctions relief.
“I hope that this message from Iran is carefully heard today,” the
new president concluded.
There was no immediate response from the U.S. or Israel.
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Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed.
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