By: Jasmine Navabi
Sometimes, a speech does more than present a government’s image of power. It reveals just how far that government has drifted from reality.
On 23 September 2026, Masoud Pezeshkian, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, took the podium at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The podium was meant to be an opportunity for the Islamic Republic to present its message to the world.
But what drew attention was not only what Pezeshkian said, but also the reaction inside the hall.
At the beginning of his speech, the United States representative walked out, while the Israeli delegation was not present for the address. Therefore, despite some videos and claims circulating on social media, it would be inaccurate to say that “all the seats at the United Nations suddenly became empty.”
But those departures and absences still created a striking image of the political atmosphere surrounding the speech.
Pezeshkian once again repeated the Islamic Republic’s familiar narrative. He criticised the United States and Israel, condemned sanctions and foreign pressure, and presented the Islamic Republic as a victim of terrorism.
But amid all these accusations, one fundamental question remains:
If the Islamic Republic claims to defend the Iranian people, who is responsible for what the people of Iran have endured over the past decades?
When a Government Presents Itself as the Victim
In his speech at the United Nations, Pezeshkian described the Islamic Republic as a victim of terrorism and strongly criticised the actions of the United States and Israel.
But for many Iranians, different questions remain — questions that cannot simply be dismissed by a diplomatic speech:
Who arrests protesters?
Who restricts freedom of speech and peaceful assembly?
Who detains and prosecutes political and civil rights activists?
Who issues severe sentences, including the death penalty, against protesters and opponents?
And who should answer to the families who have lost their loved ones during protests and crackdowns?
These questions are not raised only by opponents of the Islamic Republic.
United Nations human rights officials have expressed concern in 2026 over reports of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment in connection with protests in Iran, as well as concerns over death sentences, including cases reportedly involving confessions allegedly obtained through torture.
So when a representative of the Islamic Republic speaks before the world’s largest diplomatic forum and presents the government as the victim, one fundamental question remains:
Where is the voice of the victims inside Iran?
A Global Platform, But Only One Narrative
The United Nations is intended to be a place where different perspectives can be heard.
But one speech cannot represent every voice in a country.
While Pezeshkian spoke from the position of President of the Islamic Republic, millions of Iranians inside and outside Iran have a very different story to tell about life under this government.
A story in which freedom, security, the right to protest, freedom of expression and the future of Iran remain central concerns.
Perhaps that is why the issue is not simply about who sat in the UN hall and who walked out.
The deeper question is:
Who truly represents the voice of the Iranian people?
Iran Is Not the Islamic Republic
One of the most important points that must remain clear throughout this discussion is simple:
Iran is not the Islamic Republic.
Iran is not a government.
Iran is a nation.
It is a land.
It is a history.
It is a culture.
And it is a people who have the right to speak about and determine the future of their country.
The Islamic Republic may speak at the United Nations in the name of Iran, but no government can permanently build a wall between the name “Iran” and the lived reality of the Iranian people.
Iran is bigger than one government.
And the Iranian nation is bigger than one state.