Tehran, Iran – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and his team are heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where they are expected to express grievances about the United States’ war on Iran, but also look at ways of resolving it. Pezeshkian, who departed Tehran on Tuesday morning local time, is joined by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other officials, and is scheduled to address the 193-member assembly on Wednesday. He also warned that the renewed use of force by Iran’s foes would be counterproductive.
Araghchi, who had arrived in New York earlier, said his main goals during meetings on the sidelines will be to “defend the rights and interest of the Iranian people”. The war started by the US and Israel on Iran on February 28 continues, with disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz that have affected global energy prices. In the backdrop, Araghchi slammed the UN’s lacklustre performance in establishing peace and security.
He said the Minab school bombing by the US and the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the opening day of the war would be among the issues Iran will raise at the UN. The Iranian delegation will be in New York for five days and is scheduled to return to Tehran on Saturday. The US has denied visas to Pezeshkian’s accompanying media team and imposed tight restrictions on their movement in the country, according to the president’s office.
Iranian delegates will also be barred from buying luxury goods during their stay. Still, Pezeshkian plans to hold discussions with Iranian expatriates, intellectuals, think tanks and media in the coming days. The UNGA brings together representatives of nearly 130 countries at the body’s headquarters in New York.
This year’s assembly, which begins on Tuesday, comes as the US tightens economic pressure through sanctions and a naval blockade on southern Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he was considering a new major military assault on Iran, but wanted to hear from the Arab leaders of the region first. He is set to meet with representatives from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain in the coming days to discuss the war on Iran.
This and a military escalation in Yemen, where Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces are fighting the Iran-aligned Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, are other concerns for the assembly. The Houthis have expanded control over the strait of Bab al-Mandeb in recent weeks after making rapid military advances in western Yemen and the Red Sea coast. Regional mediators – including Pakistan, Qatar, Oman and Turkiye – have pushed for a diplomatic end to the crisis amid prospects of escalated conflict.
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