Iran to use UNGA 2026 to strike back at U.S. or break a new deal

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian left Tehran for New York on Tuesday heading a delegation to participate in the 81st United Nations General Assembly while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived there earlier at the head of a diplomatic team.

Iranian officials including its chief executive and top diplomat have asserted that they will use the annual event at the world body to express Tehran’s stands on outstanding global and regional issues and to safeguards Iran’s national interests.

“Attending the United Nations General Assembly is an opportunity to explain the positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, explain the realities of the region, and convey the voice of the Iranian nation to world public opinion,” Pezeshkian told reporters prior to his departure.

The UNGA 2026 convenes following the Israeli-U.S. war against Iran which began 28 February and lasted for 40 days. Last year’s session was held under more or less similar events in the wake of the Israeli-U.S. airstrikes in June that lasted for 12 days.

To a question about non-issuance of visas of the Iranian media team to accompany, Pezeshkian said “The UN platform allows us to convey Iran’s message, and there are numerous media outlets in New York.”

“The imposed restrictions can be a sign of concern on the part of certain parties regarding the realities of developments in the region being raised and heard,” he added.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei slammed the move by the U.S. administration to deny visas to members of President Pezeshkian’s media team as an attempt to conceal the truth and push a campaign of misinformation.

In a statement posted on his X account on Monday, Iranian Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that Washington slammed its doors shut on journalists it dislikes at home and on foreign reporters whose voices it would rather silence, including the Iranian president’s communications team.

“A nation that once took pride in tearing down the Iron Curtain now finds itself standing behind one of its own,” he said.

Upon his arrival to New York on Monday, Foreign Minister Araghchi has spoken on the phone with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“They discussed the issues on the agenda of the UN General Assembly and the Secretary-General's efforts to advance international peace and security,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

According to local media quoting the ministry press releases on Tuesday, Araghchi met with EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas as well as his Qatari, Swiss and Italian counterparts and Norway’s deputy foreign minister on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

While the Iranian president is scheduled to meet his counterparts at the UN event, he has been facing mounting pressures from domestic circles not to meet any U.S. officials on the stalled ceasefire talks. The same camp has ruled out any peace talks with the U.S. demanding revenge particularly over the killing of Iran’s former supreme leader and military commanders.

The opposing voices have gained momentum as Iran began the Sacred Defense Week with events and military parades marking the anniversary of Iraqi-imposed war of 1980-1988 under its ruler Saddam Hussein.

The Israeli-U.S. wars against Iran in 2025 and 2026 are widely dubbed in official Iranian platforms and media as the second and third imposed wars, respectively.

Read more:

• Trump says U.S.-Iran meeting was ‘very good’, more talks planned
• Trump: I believe we will make a deal with Iran right after the midterm elections
• Iran shuts French language centre in Tehran over ‘illegal activities’

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