• Denial of an attempt to assassinate Trump: Pezeshkian said the Iranian government had “never, whether openly or secretly, sought to assassinate Donald Trump or members of his family.”
• Strait of Hormuz: He reiterated that Iran had not closed the strait and that it remained open, arguing that there was no legal justification for a U.S. attack.
• Domestic protests: He said that “anyone who wants to protest has the full right to do so,” but that “turning protests into a weapon is something entirely different.”
• Yemen: He stressed that the Houthis
“are responsible for their own actions and do not receive orders from us,”
while acknowledging that there are “communications” but “no systematic relationship.”
Fifth: Trump’s Nuclear Threat — “Annihilation” at the UN
The announcement comes amid an unprecedented escalation in U.S. rhetoric. In his address to the UN General Assembly on September 22, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump explicitly threatened to
“annihilate”
the Islamic Republic of Iran if no agreement was reached to end the war.
Trump also threatened to
“send them to hell”
if Tehran did not surrender, while calling on other countries to join the United States in economically isolating Iran in order to force it to the negotiating table.