Iran aims to play ‘constructive role’ in world affairs: Pezeshkian
Iran’s president said he wants to open a “constructive” chapter in his country’s international relations even as he made clear that other countries need to do their part.
“I aim to lay strong foundations for my country’s entry into a new era, positioning it to play an effective and constructive role in the emerging global order, remove obstacles and challenges and organize my country’s relations based on the needs and realities of today’s world,” Masoud Pezeshkian said during his first speech at the UN General Assembly’s annual gathering of world leaders.
“I entered the election campaign with a program based on reforms, national unity, constructive interaction with the world and economic development and I managed to gain the trust of my compatriots at the elections,” Pezeshkian added.
He also referred to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal from which the United States withdrew in 2018 and reimposed illegal sanctions on Iran. Efforts to revive the pact have failed so far.
“We are ready to engage with participants of the 2015 nuclear deal. If the deal’s commitments are implemented fully and in good faith, dialogue on other issues can follow,” Pezeshkian said.
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 US 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 president concluded.
Iran seeks peace
Pezeshkian also said Iran pursued peace for the entirety of the international community, asserting, “We want peace for all and are not after engaging in war and fighting with anyone.”
“Take a look at the contemporary history of the region. Iran has never acted as an initiator of any war,” the president said, adding that the country had, in all cases, “just heroically defended itself in the face of others’ aggression and caused the aggressors to regret [their transgressions].”
Regional unity
“We have spoken about the necessity of regional unity and formation of a strong region,” the president stated.
“Our region suffers from war, sectarian tensions, terrorism, extremism, drug smuggling, shortage of water resources, refugee crises, environmental destruction, and foreign interference,” Pezeshkian said, adding, “We can address these common challenges towards ensuring a better future for the next generations.”
Citing an instance of Iran’s advocacy for peace, he mentioned the country’s favoring realization of sustainable peace and security for both Ukraine and Russia, which have been engaged in a conflict since 2022.
The Islamic Republic, he said, lays emphasis on the need for expedient cessation of military conflict in Ukraine, supports whatever peaceful resolution, and believes that the crisis can only be resolved through negotiation.
Israel’s atrocities
Pezeshkian also touched upon the Israel’s actions in the region, Pezeshkian said the Israeli regime has been defeated in its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and now cannot “repair its myth of invincibility” through resorting to barbarism against Lebanon.
He was referring to the regime’s failure in the face of the Gaza-based resistance movement Hamas in the Palestinian territory and the escalation of the regime’s attacks against Lebanon since the onset of the war.
As part of the escalation, the regime carried out extensive airstrikes against southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday, killing at least 569 people, including 50 children and 94 women, and wounding 5,000 others.
Pezeshkian said, “The insane Israeli barbarism in Lebanon should be stopped before setting the region and the world on fire.”
“Naturally, the blind and terrorist crimes of the past days and the extensive aggression against Lebanon that shed the blood of thousands of innocent people will not remain unanswered,” he added.
“Those governments that stand in the way of cessation of this terrible catastrophe and still call themselves defenders of the human rights, have to bear the consequences [of these atrocities],” the president noted.