Israeli and US strikes on Iran were grave betrayal of diplomacy, says President Pezeshkian

Iranian leader maintains Tehran not seeking to build nuclear weapons

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. Reuters

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday condemned Israeli and US air strikes on his country in June as a "grave betrayal of diplomacy and a subversion of efforts".

Israel launched a surprise military offensive on June 13 that eliminated Iranian generals and scientists, while also bombing nuclear enrichment sites and air defences. Iran retaliated by launching missile and drone attacks at Israel.

US attacks were then launched on three of Iran's main nuclear sites – Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan – on June 22, using massive so-called bunker-busting bombs.

Mr Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday: "My country was subjected to a savage aggression in flagrant contravention of the most elementary principles of international law, the aerial assaults of the Zionist regime and the United States of America against Iran's cities, homes and infrastructures."

He said the attacks came "precisely at a time when we were treading the path of diplomatic negotiations, constituted a grave betrayal of diplomacy and a subversion of efforts towards the establishment of stability and peace.

"Attacks on internationally monitored facilities, assassinations of official government leaders, systematic targeting of journalists, and killings of individuals targeted solely for their knowledge and expertise are gross violations of human rights and international law," he added.

Mr Pezeshkian also maintained Tehran's stance that it does not seek to create nuclear weapons through its uranium enrichment activities, which it insists are for peaceful purposes.

“I hereby declare once before this assembly that Iran has never and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb,” he said.

The President also criticised Britain, German and French efforts to restore UN sanctions using a mechanism known as “snapback”. The sanctions had been lifted under a 2015 nuclear deal aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, but Tehran has not complied with the terms.

Israel-Iran war- in pictures

• 

  Rescue and recovery crews at work at a residential site in Be'er Sheva following a missile attack from Iran on June 24. Reuters

• 

  Contrails from Israeli air defence system are visible as interceptor rockets are launched towards Iranian missiles during an Iranian attack on June 24. AP

• 

  Residents spend the night in an underground garage as a precaution against Iranian missile attacks in Tel Aviv on June 23. AP

• 

  Supporters of regime change in Iran rally outside the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles area holds the largest Iranian community in the world outside of Iran. AFP

• 

  A US Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber takes off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to support Operation Midnight Hammer against Iran. AFP

• 

  Projectiles in the sky over Doha, Qatar, on June 23 as the US military base at Al Udeid is attacked by Iran. AFP

• 

  The remnants of an Iranian missile intercepted over Qatar. AFP

Mr Pezeshkian said the European countries have operated in “bad faith” for years to dictate Iranian compliance with a deal that the US abandoned in 2018. He said they "falsely presented themselves as parties of good standing to the agreement and disparaged Iran’s sincere efforts as insufficient".

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday rejected direct talks with the US on its nuclear activities, saying they would lead to a “dead end”.

In a speech, Mr Khamenei said Iran would not “surrender to pressure” on the nuclear issue, as it braces for the return of UN sanctions.

In last-ditch talks to stop the sanctions, European powers have indicated they could relent if Iran returns to the negotiating table with the US. Several such meetings were held in spring, before Israel and the US bombed Iran during the 12-day war in June.

In his speech, Mr Pezeshkian also condemned the "genocide" in Gaza, the destruction of homes, repeated violations of sovereignty and territorial integrity in Lebanon, the destruction of Syrian infrastructure and attacks on the people of Yemen.

"Forced starvation of weak children in the arms of their mothers, violations of the sovereignty of countries and direct targeting of nations have occurred," he said of Gaza.

"All of this has been done with the unconditional support of the most powerful armed government in the world and under the pretext of self-defence."

"Do you like such a situation for yourself? Who has disrupted the stability of the region and the world, and who is a threat to international peace and security?" he asked. "Violations of norms are a serious threat to the world."