Iranian leader to turn to UN amid threats to assassinate US politicians, interfere in elections

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday afternoon amid a wave of allegations that Tehran was involved in assassination attempts on American politicians and that it interfered in elections.

Pezeshkian, who drew attention this week for a 40-strong delegation that reportedly included his adult children, made headlines upon his arrival for comments suggesting Israel was about to start an all-out war in the Middle East, turning Lebanon into another Gaza.

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“We don’t want to be the cause of instability in the Middle East because the consequences would be irreversible,” he told reporters on Monday, according to Reuters. “We want to live in peace, we don’t want war.

“It is Israel that wants to provoke this total conflict,” he added.

His comments before the General Assembly are expected to focus mainly on the ongoing fighting in the Middle East, where Israel is grappling with the Iranian terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah.

Pezeshkian’s comments are likely to draw attention to the high number of Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza and recent Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, which have killed nearly 500 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, the BBC reported early Tuesday morning. It is not known how many of those killed were Hezbollah terrorists.

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Although the UN has condemned Israeli attacks on civilians, the Iranian president’s comments are likely to be seen as off-target by some representatives of the international organization, as Tehran has provided significant support to terrorist organizations that have engaged in the fight against the Jewish state.

There is also another case of Tehran’s alleged plot to assassinate Donald Trump, and potentially President Biden, Nikki Haley, along with other “politicians, military or bureaucrats,” according to FBI documents released by Senator Charles Grassley, Republican of Iowa, earlier this month.

Last week, the FBI confirmed that Iranian hackers tried to deliver stolen Trump campaign communications files to the Democratic presidential campaign.

While it might seem like Iranian attempts to emulate the Russian hacking and leaking operations used during the 2016 election campaign were a failed attempt to incite unrest in the U.S. before the election, the assassination plot was likely prompted by the assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani in 2020, when Trump was president.

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Pezeshkian’s trip to the U.S. for a key U.N. meeting drew condemnation from U.S. lawmakers last month, who encouraged Biden to block his visa over concerns that his presence “creates serious security concerns” for the U.S. and its allies.

According to Iran International, a hunger strike was also held at Iran’s notorious women’s prison in protest against the Iranian president’s speech amid the rising number of executions in Tehran and as part of a call for the release of all political and ideological prisoners.