Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is travelling to New York on Tuesday to attend the United Nations General Assembly meetings, pledging to firmly defend his country’s positions in international forums as the war with the United States and the dispute between Tehran and Washington over the strategic Strait of Hormuz continue.
In remarks carried by state television shortly before leaving Iran, Pezeshkian said: “We emerged from the war with our heads held high, and this is a source of dignity and pride for us all. Therefore, we will firmly defend our positions in international forums.” The Iranian president added: “We will make the most of this opportunity to highlight to the international community the difficult situation Iran is facing, and we will affirm to our adversaries that the Iranian people have remained steadfast despite all the injustice.”
Pezeshkian to address the General Assembly
Pezeshkian is due to address the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, presenting his country’s position to the leaders of states and delegations attending the meetings. He is the highest-ranking Iranian official to travel to the United States since the war in the Middle East began, following US and Israeli strikes targeting Iran in February.
The United States allowed part of the Iranian delegation to take part in the United Nations meetings, but imposed restrictions on its members similar to those applied last year, according to the US State Department. The delegation’s participation comes amid mounting political and economic pressure on Tehran and the continuing confrontation between the two countries.
The Strait of Hormuz at the heart of the dispute
Reopening the Strait of Hormuz remains one of the main points of dispute between Tehran and Washington. Since the start of the US-Israeli war, Iran has largely closed the strait, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas exports, making navigation through it directly linked to global energy supplies.
Meanwhile, the United States is imposing a blockade on Iranian ports while escalating economic pressure on Iran in an effort to increase financial pressure on it. Alongside the war and the restrictions imposed on the delegation, this issue places Pezeshkian’s address to the General Assembly within the context of an ongoing political and diplomatic confrontation between Tehran and Washington.
