Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed that Iran does not seek to build a nuclear weapon, citing a non-existent “fatwa” against it, and condemned “aggressor” Israel during his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.
Pezeshkian spent much of his address presenting Iran as a nation subjected to “savage aggression” by Israel, which he also accused of committing “genocide” in Gaza and “destabilizing” the region as part of several actions that are allegedly part of a purported “Greater Israel” plot. Pezeshkian prefaced his speech by calling upon a “golden maxim” of “That which you would not approve for yourself, do not approve for others,” citing related phrases from Christianity, Islam, and Judaism before condemning Israel.
“Let us behold the past two years. The world, in these two years, was witness to genocide in Gaza, was witness to the destruction of homes and repeated violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity in Lebanon,” Pezeshkian claimed, “was witness to the devastation of Syria’s infrastructure, was witness to assault against the people of Yemen, was witness to the forced starvation of emaciated children in the arms of their mothers, was witness to the assassination of Iran’s scientists.”
The alleged “genocide” Pezeshkian referred to is an ongoing war Israel is waging against the jihadist terror organization Hamas. Hamas is an explicitly genocidal entity seeking the destruction of the state and people of Israel. Iran funds Hamas and similar Palestinian terror groups to the tune of $100 million a year.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded Israel and engaged in a campaign of abduction, murder, gang rape, and torture against random Israelis and others in the country, killing an estimated 1,200 people.
“The world was witness to these surreptitious raids infringing upon the sovereignty of nations, violating the territorial integrity of states and openly targeting leaders of people. And all of this under the full support of the most heavily armed regime on the face of the earth and under the pretext of self-defense,” Pezeshkian said, referring to Israel’s actions. “Would you countenance such things for yourselves? Who is the disturber of the stability of the region and the world? Who is the actual threat against international peace and security?”
The Iranian president also referenced to the U.S. military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, calling them a “savage aggression in flagrant contravention of the most elementary principles of international law” from Israel and the United States. According to Pezeshkian, the attacks came at a time “when we were treading the path of diplomatic negotiations.”
Pezeshkian claimed that Iran has demonstrated that “it shall never bow before aggressors” and asserted that the Middle Eastern nation “is standing upright with reliance upon the power of faith and in its national cohesion.”
The Iranian President – after criticizing the United Kingdom, France, and Germany for supporting the “snapback” of U.N. sanctions against Iran in the context of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – reiterated Iran’s alleged longstanding claim that it does not seek to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“I hereby declare once more before this assembly that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb,” he said. “We do not seek nuclear weapons. This is our belief based on the edict issued by the Supreme Leader and by religious authorities, therefore we do not seek weapons of mass destructions nor will we ever seek them.”
In reality, there is no evidence that such a fatwa exists.
Pezeshkian concluded by proclaiming Iran a “steadfast partner” and a “trustworthy companion for all peace-seeking countries.”
“We, the upright people of Iran, by standing firm against lawless marauders, have surmounted with honor the injustices, discriminations, and double standards imposed upon us,” he said. “And today, with an opportunity-oriented outlook, we have transformed this historic achievement of the Iranian people into a platform for a leap toward a hopeful future.”
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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