Iran's President Says It Will Never 'Bend the Knee' Despite Talks
· World · BBC News, France 24, Bernama
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly that Iran will never 'bend the knee' after nearly seven months of conflict with the US and Israel, while expressing openness to a diplomatic solution. He warned that US sanctions and pressure would only increase Iranian resistance, and insisted any deal must include ending the US blockade of Iranian ships and ports. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas shipments pass, has remained effectively closed since late February due to Iranian attacks on commercial vessels and the US blockade. Although a preliminary agreement to reopen the strait was reached in June, it collapsed weeks later after Iranian shipping attacks resumed and the US reinstated the blockade. Indirect talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff, brokered by Qatar, took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, marking the first such engagement since June. Witkoff described the discussio
Why it matters
The continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupts global oil and gas supplies, directly affecting energy markets and prices worldwide, including in India, which relies heavily on Gulf imports. The stalemate in US-Iran talks heightens regional tensions and raises the risk of further escalation in an already volatile Middle East.
Read the original report — BBC News
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