Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, that his people have been "victims of terrorism" by the United States, delivering what was described as a rare wartime speech at the UN General Assembly.

The address came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he could "annihilate" the Islamic Republic.

In the defiant speech, Pezeshkian held up large photos of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and of more than 150 schoolchildren killed in the first days of the war.

Pezeshkian said Iran will not surrender in the war with the United States but believes in diplomacy to try to end the conflict.

"We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists," Pezeshkian said at the General Assembly. "Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed" upon them, according to the account of his remarks.

The U.S. delegation walked out at the start of his speech. The U.S. mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The speech was notable as an instance of a foreign leader addressing the world body while his country is at war with the host nation.