NEW YORK: President Masoud Pezeshkian welcomed the defense pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, describing it as a step toward a comprehensive regional security framework involving Muslim countries of West Asia in political, security, and defense fields, IRNA reported.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, the Iranian president said that Iran has never sought to build a nuclear bomb and will not do so in the future.
“We are not pursuing nuclear weapons, and this is a principled belief backed by a religious decree from the Leader. As a result, we have never sought weapons of mass destruction, and we never will do so,” Pezeshkian said on Thursday.
In a region where the true source of instability is the Israeli regime, it is Iran that faces sanctions, he said, adding that there is a proverb in Persian that goes, “A blacksmith committed a crime in Balkh, but they executed a coppersmith in Shushtar.” “Someone disrupts the region elsewhere, yet others are punished.”
Pezeshkian said that the moral foundation of all religions and human conscience is the golden rule – not to wish for others what one would not wish for oneself – but argued that the world had failed to uphold it.
He added that in the past two years, the international community witnessed killings and destruction in Gaza, repeated violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty, devastation of Syrian infrastructure, assaults on Yemen, and the forced starvation of children in their mothers’ arms, adding that these crimes had been backed by the US – the most heavily armed government in the world – under the pretext of self-defense, asking who in reality posed a threat to regional and global stability.
The president condemned a “brutal” attack on Iran in June, saying Israeli and US airstrikes on cities, homes and infrastructure violated international law and came while Tehran was engaged in diplomatic talks. He said the strikes killed commanders, civilians, children, women, scientists, and national elites, dealing a heavy blow to trust and prospects for peace.
Displaying images of victims of the June attacks on Iran, Pezeshkian described the crime as part of a broader pattern of killings by Israel, linking them to the destruction and mass casualties in Gaza, where homes, hospitals, schools and clinics had been targeted and supplies cut off.
He warned that failing to confront such violations would set dangerous precedents, including attacks on safeguarded nuclear facilities, assassination attempts on UN member state leaders, systematic targeting of journalists, and the killing of people classified as “military targets” solely for their knowledge and expertise.
Pezeshkian said those who committed these crimes against Iran and the region should know that the Iranian nation has always withstood the storms of history and would not bow to aggressors.
Turning to the Israeli crimes in Gaza, Pezeshkian denounced nearly two years of genocide, starvation, and apartheid in the besieged enclave and aggression against its neighboring countries. He said Israel’s leadership had recently spoken of an “absurd and delusional,” plan for a “Greater Israel,” adding that the scheme revealed the true intentions of the Israeli regime and left no country immune from its ambitions.
He said Israel and its backers have now abandoned political normalization and are instead seeking to impose their presence through “naked force”, calling this “peace through strength”. On the contrary, he said Iran sought a powerful region built on collective security, cooperation, and “strength through peace.”
Pezeshkian said that Iran had long advocated for a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, while nuclear-armed powers that violated the Non-Proliferation Treaty were modernizing their arsenals and levelling unfounded accusations against Tehran.
He also criticized Britain, France, and Germany, saying the three European powers had failed to honor their commitments over the past decade and are now, under Washington’s pressure and coercion, attempting to reimpose canceled UN Security Council resolutions against Iran. He said the move lacked international legitimacy, had been opposed by some Security Council members, and would gain no support from the wider international community.
Pezeshkian said Iran welcomed peace and stability, stressing that the future of the region and the world should be built on cooperation, trust, and shared development. He voiced support for the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, expressing hope that it would produce a lasting outcome and serve as a basis for improved relations between the two neighbors. He also said Tehran hoped efforts to end the war in Ukraine would lead to a fair and sustainable agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
Pezeshkian welcomed a defense pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, describing it as a step toward a comprehensive regional security framework involving Muslim countries of West Asia in political, security, and defense fields.
He also condemned Israel’s “criminal aggression” against Qatar that resulted in the deaths of Palestinian and Qatari nationals, and declared Iran’s support and solidarity with the Qatari government and people.
Pezeshkian said true security could not be achieved through force but through confidence-building, mutual respect, regional cooperation and multilateralism based on international law. On that basis, he called on world leaders to practice listening rather than raising their voices, and to apply the principle common to all faiths and cultures – not to impose on others what they would not accept for themselves.
He urged the international community to restore the credibility of international legal institutions and mechanisms, and to commit to creating a regional security and cooperation system in West Asia.
Pezeshkian said those who commit crimes by killing children and bullying others do not deserve to be called human and would not inevitably prove to be reliable partners. He emphasized that Iran, drawing on its long tradition of humanitarianism, aims to be a reliable partner for all peace-seeking countries, building relationships based not on temporary interests but on dignity, trust and a shared future. He concluded by calling on the international community to turn threats into opportunities.