Pezeshkian Says His Piece, China Won’t Join US Sanctions

By News on SantoshHub Sep 24, 2026 0

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Masoud Pezeshkian, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran spoke Wednesday at the UN. He opened by saying he dispensed with his prepared remarks after hearing Trump’s speech of the day before. Then he displayed photos of victims of the initial US bombing attack, leading the US delegation to walk out.

Selected quotes from the UN English-language translation:

In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I had prepared a speech to present to you yesterday. The United States president described us as terrorists. We have been the victims of terrorism.

I come from an Iran in which our esteemed Supreme Leader was assassinated without any legal framework or reason. I come from an Iran where, in truth, they bombed a school. You see these children. These children perished under bombs, with weapons used by the United States and Israel. They were innocent. They had committed no crimes.

Lamerd, one of the small cities in a province in Iran: a sports hall where children were busy playing. The United States, using weapons with multiple warheads, targeted that sports hall. They martyred, assassinated our scientists, our men, women and children — innocent children who, in truth, had committed no crimes, no sins.

Those who are terrorists, and train and protect terrorists, describe us as such. We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists. Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country, and we defended ourselves with utmost strength. America and Israel attacked us, equipped with the latest technology and weapon systems, and our people stood steadfast. Yes, they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee. We did not bow our head. We responded, but we did not hit civilian populations. They came into surrounding territories and targeted our universities, our health care centers, our schools, our hospitals, our infrastructure. All of it against international law.

…In any province, and commits assassinations like a true terrorist. In Gaza, over 80,000 innocent civilians have been murdered, brutally murdered. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced. They are committing genocide using the so-called technologies they have at their disposal. Then they label others as terrorists.

Are we the sources of instability? We only seek to live independently. Are we the ones who cause instability? Those who are committing terrorism and committing crimes, are they the protectors of peace and stability? None of the international laws have been adhered to by them. This is what we’re facing.

…

For the past two centuries, Iran has not attacked any country or any territory, but we have always defended ourselves steadfastly. Now we are being accused of being a source of instability in the region. We are labeled terrorists. And this has made it so that the path we have chosen for ourselves requires power to defend ourselves. We do not seek power in order to attack or commit aggression. We seek energy for progress, not to threaten societies with weapons, and we wish to cooperate and collaborate for security.

…

We seek energy for progress. For years they have attached labels — centrifuges, international sanctions and other labels — to our nuclear technology. But for our country, peaceful nuclear technology is part of our inherent progress: for our sick people it is cure and treatment, for the agricultural sector it is food security, for industry it is advancement and progress and the supply of electrical energy. Iran does not accept that nuclear technology be at the exclusive disposal of a handful. We will not bow our head and give up the right that is inherently ours. We say it clearly: no nuclear weapons, and no limitations on peaceful nuclear technology.

Our peace will not come on the field of battle. But they must give the needed security to the people and nation of Iran. We seek cooperation in order to have security. We live in a region in which warfare knows no borders. Crisis in one land will spill into the surrounding nations. That is why Iran does not see her neighbors as security rivals. We want to have strong neighbors.

In the waters of the Strait of Hormuz, we cannot let some have free access and gain their interests from a waterway while at the same time using that waterway to impose their aggressions and insecurity upon us, and to forbid us access to our own waterways. They close access for us to our own waterway, yet they keep supplying missiles and deadly military technologies to bring insecurity to all of the lands surrounding that waterway. We will not succumb to that. The expansion of warfare will not result in security. One cannot create chaos for the coastal countries while seeking naval security.

Excellencies, vis-à-vis Palestine: Palestine remains an open wound on the conscience of the international community, and Gaza remains a symbol of the failure of international mechanisms to prevent civilian suffering. For decades, resolutions have been adopted, yet occupation and violence have continued. We cannot speak of peace while ignoring Palestine. Lasting peace in West Asia is impossible without justice for Palestine.

As long as occupation, aggression and injustice persist in the world, resistance will continue.

…

And now a few words with those who are responsible for having planned and carried out aggressions against our country. Our people have experienced firsthand the result of their deadly aggression, and they have tested the strength and the steadfastness of Iran, and they have learned that Iran cannot be made to surrender. Iran has never been an aggressor, has never started a war, and has always shown her commitment to the negotiating table. They imposed the war on us. But we have proven that we are not afraid of war. [We] won a war that is defensive in nature, and we will stand in defense of our beloved Iran, our homeland, until our last breath.

…

I will repeat: the nuclear weapon is in Israel, but the inspectors are in Iran. Israel kills, but Iran is subject to sanctions. This is a true tragedy, which would make anyone hearing it laugh, at best. They kill; we are sanctioned, we are punished. Those who are ill, innocent people, the poor, the least privileged in our society are the targets of these sanctions. And this is what the United States seeks to do with all countries: to sacrifice the population of a country in order to achieve its illegitimate goals.

…

But going back to the words of the president of the United States yesterday: those who are experts in international law, dialogue, diplomacy and basic human standards can see that everything uttered about our country goes against the very essence, the Charter and the spirit of the United Nations. He must know that the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying. We will never bow our head or bend the knee. It must be understood by Mr. Trump and those who seek to bully us that we are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations, without accepting the language of force.

There’s a ton of MSM coverage but nothing that has anything worthwile to add to Pezeshkian’s remarks.

Now let’s talk about China.

Trump Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Xi

Chinese officials look on as some final adjustments to the red carpet are made for President Xi. pic.twitter.com/aG8Jwtg6Nx

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 23, 2026

And then tried to impress his guest with a military jet flyover, advantage Xi:

Trump winces in pain during the loud military flyover as Xi shows no reaction pic.twitter.com/iUMvnhYZn9

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) September 23, 2026

More important than the ceremonial stuff was China’s announcement of its response to the US’ latest round of sanctions on Iran, via Bloomberg:

China criticized the new US law that strengthens sanctions on Russia and extends trade measures on Iran, which was signed late Friday by President Donald Trump.
Bejing has “consistently opposed” unilateral sanctions and so-called secondary sanctions, according to a Commerce Ministry spokesperson.

Specifically, China is against sanctions that lack United Nations authorization or a basis in international law, the spokesperson said in a statement posted on Saturday.

China will closely monitor Washington‘s next steps and reserves the right to take all necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty, development interests and the legitimate rights and interests of its companies, while calling for stable trade ties through dialogue and consultation, the spokesperson said.

Al Jazeera published this op-ed by Yang Xiaotong of the Horizon Insights Centre:

Beijing is once again standing by Iran – not out of moral or ideological motivations, but because it can and because it is in its interest.

By purchasing 90 percent of Iranian oil exports, China has single-handedly kept the Iranian economy afloat – all while evading the US sanctions through a sophisticated network of “dark fleets” (ships used to obfuscate the Iranian origin of their cargo) and “teapot” refineries (private refineries so dubbed for their relatively modest size).

In response to Washington’s “with us or against us” ultimatum on the sanctions, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said that “China will do everything necessary to firmly safeguard its rights and interests”. Having fought several trade wars with the US to a standstill, China has developed a high tolerance for US-inflicted economic pain – and an equally low tolerance for being pushed around.

For Beijing, foreign interference in bilateral trade relations with a third country is not acceptable. More importantly, it views Washington’s threat as toothless – and for good reason.

China is well insulated from the US’ Iran-related secondary sanctions. Chinese banks and companies that do business with Iran often do so exclusively, settling transactions in renminbi or through barter – making them effectively immune to US extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, the handful of Chinese companies that still settle transactions in US dollars are hidden beneath layers of shell companies that can be discarded at little to no cost. This forces Washington into an endless game of regulatory whack-a-mole, in which each entity successfully eliminated is quickly replaced by another.

Schrodinger’s Negotiations Between Witkoff and Araghchi

I find attempting to parse the family blogging around whether or not the US and Iran engaged in negotiations incredibly pointless, so forgive me if my coverage of every back and forth is lacking.

But I’ll try to sum up, the Qataris claim to have a proposal for a common Iran-Gulf security framework. I’ll file that under “So what?”

Trump claims more negotiations will occur, building on the indirect negotiations Witkoff claimed were held Tuesday, and the EU’s Kaja Kallas claims to have told Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi “no tolls or fees” on the Hormuz.

Reuters reports that Iran is willing to re-open the Straits if the US eases military pressure.

Meanwhile in the Straits themselves, there was some boom boom, but let’s re-visit the ever-increasing US casualty count first.

Hard Times on the USS Abe Lincoln

CNN reported some grim, although apparently no more grim than normal, news:

Eight US Navy personnel assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during a period that included when the ships undertook combat operations against Iran and the carrier set a modern record for its time at sea, according to a letter from the service’s acting secretary, which was obtained by CNN.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao revealed the number, which has not been previously reported and covers crew members from several ships that travel together, including the carrier, in written responses to questions posed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand about the morale and mental health of the USS Abraham Lincoln’s crew. Cao wrote that no service members had killed themselves during the deployment.

The rate of suicide attempts among the Lincoln strike group’s sailors was roughly consistent with that of the entire active duty Navy in 2024, the most recent year for which the Pentagon has released suicide data.

Some Ships Get Through, Some Don’t

An Indian sailor was killed when the merchant ship Cape Dao was hit 2.5 miles off Musandam.

Footage shows the UAE-owned CAPE DAO bulk carrier after it was targeted by the IRGC Navy with an anti-ship missile in the Strait of Hormuz this morning. The attack resulted in the death of one Indian national. https://t.co/TVPjZjIibg pic.twitter.com/uovA0133E3

— OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) September 23, 2026

But Tanker Trackers says some spice is flowing, quite a bit actually:

Hormuz isn’t closed. It’s been re-engineered.@TankerTrackers’ Samir Madani estimates ~10.3 mmb/d of crude is again crossing the Strait—using 100+ AIS-dark shuttle tankers and STS transfers in the Gulf of Oman.

Iranian crude exports, meanwhile, are essentially shut down.

The… https://t.co/TYUX0I9eVZ

— Art Berman (@aeberman12) September 23, 2026

Tanker Tracker’s Samir Madani estimates ~10.3 mmb/d of crude is again crossing the Strait—using 100+ AIS-dark shuttle tankers and STS transfers in the Gulf of Oman.

Iranian crude exports, meanwhile, are essentially shut down.

The oil is moving. The old system isn’t.

Iran, meanwhile, appears to be exporting essentially no meaningful crude volumes, although reduced LPG and small product flows continue.

The adaptation is working, but at extraordinary cost:

Tanker rates have risen from roughly $50,000/day before the war to more than $1 million/day, while attacks and retaliation continue.

Meanwhile in Iraq…

US Troops Out of Iraq

The AP reports:

The U.S. withdrawal is underway, and officials say the hundreds of troops remaining in northern Iraq will be out by the Sept. 30 deadline.

The Iraqi government has linked the U.S. withdrawal to an ultimatum for militias to lay down their weapons. But most have indicated they have no plans to do so.

But things are much more kino a bit further south, down Yemen way.

Ansar Allah Throws Down

The Saudi-backed “Yemeni Government forces” claimed a win in Al Jazeera:

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces say they have taken full control of strategic Mount Qarfan in the western governorate of Taiz during a battle with Iran-aligned Houthi fighters.

Government forces, assisted by local fighters, secured Mount Qarfan on Tuesday, the Yemen Armed Forces Media Center said in a statement, as the warring sides battle for control of highlands overlooking the Red Sea coast.

But Ansar Allah claims to be on the offensive as well:

Ansar Allah has deployed reinforcements and launched a large-scale offensive on the Hayfan front, southeast of Taiz, following a ground advance from the Al-Akbush hills toward the Al-Ahkum areas of Dimnat Khadir District.

The offensive has expanded along three axes, including… https://t.co/Bqk8iLK9Xi pic.twitter.com/DA0nVQa6Hb

— OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) September 24, 2026

A Little YouTube in the Morning

The above is a conversation with Yemeni journalist and political commentator Hussain Al-Bukhaiti on the escalating Yemen crisis, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Imran Khan and the implications of the Mecca Defence Pact.