UNITED NATIONS (AP) \u2014 Iran\u2019s president said Wednesday that his people have been \u201cvictims of terrorism\u201d by the United States, delivering a rare wartime speech at U.N. General Assembly a day after President Donald Trump said he could \u201cannihilate\u201d the Islamic republic.<\/p>\n
In a defiant speech, President Masoud Pezeshkian<\/a> held up large photos of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the more than 150 school Iranian children killed on the first days of the war.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,\u201d Pezeshkian said at the General Assembly. \u201cOur innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country. And we defended ourselves with utmost strength. America and Israel attacked us.\u201d<\/p>\n He added of the United States: \u201cYes they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee.\u201d Toward the end of his speech, Pezeshkian called out Trump by name.<\/p>\n \u201cIt must be understood by Mr. Trump and those who seek to bully us that we are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He also said one thing that was measurably false: \u201cWe did not hit civilian populations.\u201d Mariners and migrant workers in the region have been among the civilians killed in Iran\u2019s attacks since the war began.<\/p>\n A busy 24 hours for US-Iran relations<\/p>\n Arriving in New York under heavy security and scrutiny, Pezeshkian \u2014 who, within Iran\u2019s political landscape, is considered a moderate politician \u2014 addressed world leaders a day after Trump used the same stage to suggest he may \u201cannihilate\u201d the Islamic Republic if a deal isn\u2019t reached soon to end the nearly seven-month war.<\/a><\/p>\n Hours later, Trump told reporters that his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff<\/a> and Jared Kushner<\/a>, met for about three hours with the Iranian officials on the sidelines of the annual gathering. But he offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchange.<\/p>\n