Iran’s UNGA Moment

Situation Report A weekly digest of national security, defense, and cybersecurity news from Foreign Policy reporters John Haltiwanger and Rishi Iyengar. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called the U. S. government “terrorists.” , a staff writer at Foreign Policy, and John Haltiwanger, a staff writer at Foreign Policy. Pezeshkian points his finger for emphasis as he stands at a lectern featuring the United Nations logo. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during the 81st United Nations General Assembly at the U. N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 23. Clary/AFP via September 23, 2026, PM Analysis and news. Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report, where Day 3 of the U. General Assembly high-level week brought more fiery speeches and more technological concerns. Here’s what’s on tap for the day: Two speeches are delivered U. Security Council—Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the CEOs of leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies address the U. Security Council, and World Bank President Ajay Banga talks with FP’s editor in chief. Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report, where Day 3 of the U. General Assembly high-level week brought more fiery speeches and more technological concerns. Here’s what’s on tap for the day: Two speeches are delivered U. Security Council—Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the CEOs of leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies address the U. Security Council, and World Bank President Ajay Banga talks with FP’s editor in chief. ‘We Have Only Defended Ourselves’ Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made the most of his rare opportunity to criticize the United States on U. S. soil on Wednesday, using his morning speaking slot in New York to retaliate rhetorically against U. President Donald Trump’s threat to “annihilate” Iran in his speech the day before. “I had prepared a speech to present to you yesterday,” Pezeshkian began. He then implied that instead, he felt compelled to respond to Trump’s characterization of the Iranian regime as “terrorists” in his Tuesday remarks. The Iranian president declared that Iranians country were “victims of terrorism,” citing the U. S. and Israeli assassination of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “without any legal framework” as well as the separate U. S. bombings of a school and a sports complex in Iran in the early days of the war. “Those who are terrorists and train and protect terrorists describe us as such,” Pezeshkian said. “We have only defended ourselves.” “An open wound.” In addition to hitting back at Trump and the United States, Pezeshkian spent much of his speech criticizing Israel, whose prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is set to address UNGA on Thursday.