US delegate exits UN hall as Iran's Pezeshkian delivers defiant wartime address
A US delegate left the UN General Assembly hall during Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's speech, a day after Trump's 'annihilate' warning.
A United States delegate walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall on Wednesday as Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian was delivering his address to the world body.
The departure came during a speech in which Pezeshkian defended his country's position, telling the assembly that Iran had acted only in self-defence. "They martyred, assassinated our scientists, our men, women and children," he said, adding that those who train and protect terrorists were the ones labelling Iran as such. "We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists."
During the address, Pezeshkian held up large photographs of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and of more than 150 Iranian schoolchildren killed in the opening days of the war.
The speech marked an unusual moment at the United Nations: a foreign leader addressing the General Assembly while his country is at war with the host nation. It came a day after US President Donald Trump said he may "annihilate" the Islamic Republic if a deal is not reached soon to end the nearly seven-month conflict.
The Iranian delegation looked on from its seats as Pezeshkian spoke.