Pezeshkian Arrives in New York for the UN General Assembly

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in New York to take part in and address the UN General Assembly, at the peak of the diplomatic crisis surrounding the war with the United States and Israel.

According to the Iranian news agency Fars, Pezeshkian is traveling with a sizable delegation, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, his deputy Kazem Gharibabadi, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei and Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah.

The trip comes after Vice President Ghaempanah himself revealed that several colleagues had advised the president to give up the visit, but Pezeshkian decided to go to “articulate Iran’s authority and grievances before the world.”

The Iranian president has pledged to use the visit to “restore the world’s trust” and to highlight what Tehran calls “oppression” by the United States, while Trump has threatened the “annihilation” of Iran if no deal is reached.

Pezeshkian’s presence in New York opens the possibility of new diplomatic contacts, after the US and Iran held a three-hour meeting on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN, which Trump called “very good.”

Source: Al Jazeera