Trump likely ‘smirked’ as 'crass' Iranian president lashed out at US in UN speech: expert

close Video Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian: US calls ‘us terrorists’; we are 'victims of terrorism' Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed to the United Nations General Assembly that he and his country ‘have been the victims of terrorism.’ NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s sharp rebuke of Washington at the United Nations would have drawn little more than a "smirk" from President Donald Trump, who knows he "holds the cards," a foreign policy expert told Fox News Digital Wednesday. The assessment came after Pezeshkian and Trump addressed the U. General Assembly in New York from the same podium within 24 hours of one another, trading sharp rhetoric as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to mount. "Trump understands he holds the cards, and he may not even have paid much attention to what the Iranian president was saying," Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Fox News Digital. Pezeshkian accused the United States and Israel of attacking Iran while portraying his country as the victim of aggression. THE TOP MOMENTS FROM IRAN PRESIDENT’S TENSE VISIT TO US SOIL AS WAR RAGES Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian holds a picture, which he says is from the Minab school that was hit , as he addresses the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at U. N. headquarters Sept. 23, 2026, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/) "We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists," Pezeshkian claimed. "Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country. America and Israel attacked us." "I’m sure that would have drawn a smirk or a smile or a chuckle from the president’s face, seeing that crassness," Taleblu said, pointing to what he described as a sharp contrast between Pezeshkian’s rhetoric and the Iranian government’s track record. Pezeshkian’s address came after Trump used the same U. N. stage to defend the U. S. conflict with Iran and warn that Tehran faces a stark choice between reaching a deal and facing further destruction. "Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?" Trump said on Tuesday. While the rhetoric from both leaders was pointed, Taleblu said their broader diplomatic positions remain largely predictable. TRUMP TO ZERO-IN ON IRAN NUCLEAR THREAT, GAZA PLAN AND UN OVERHAUL IN WORLD STAGE SPEECH President Donald Trump addresses the UNGA in New York City. (Michael Santiago/) "To a certain degree, both President Trump and President Pezeshkian’s speeches before the U.