Oil prices rose more than 3 percent on Wednesday as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the United Nations that Tehran would not surrender to US pressure, while maintaining that Iran remained open to diplomacy.
As at 6 pm WAT, Brent crude was trading at $102.40 per barrel, up $3.14 or 3.16 percent, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stood at $91.58, gaining $1.06 or 1.17 percent.
The rise came as Pezeshkian used his address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York to reject US President Donald Trump’s threat of further military action against Iran.
Pezeshkian said Iran would not “bend at the knee” under sanctions, military pressure, or what he described as intimidation, while stressing that Tehran was prepared for dialogue and negotiations without the language of force.
“Never bow our head or bend at the knee,” Pezeshkian said in a direct message to Trump.
His remarks followed Trump’s address to the same UN gathering a day earlier, when the US president said he was weighing between reaching a deal with Tehran and “annihilating” the Islamic Republic if an agreement was not reached.
Trump also said he believed a settlement could be reached after the November US midterm elections.
Pezeshkian rejected the prospect of negotiating under military coercion, while defending Iran’s position on its nuclear programme, regional security, sanctions and the Strait of Hormuz.
He said Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons but would not surrender what he described as its inherent right to peaceful nuclear technology.
“We say it clearly: No nuclear weapons and no limitations to peaceful nuclear technology,” he said.
The Iranian president also criticised what he described as unequal treatment of Iran and Israel, citing Israel’s nuclear capabilities and international inspections of Iran.
He accused the United States of attacking Iranian infrastructure, including universities, healthcare facilities and schools, and said Iran had acted defensively rather than targeting civilian populations.
Pezeshkian also accused Washington of terrorism over the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the beginning of the war. He displayed a photograph of Khamenei during the address, alongside images of victims of an attack on a primary school in Minab.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Pezeshkian said Iran could not accept a situation in which other countries benefited from the waterway while Tehran was denied access to shipping through it.
The strait has remained a major concern for global energy markets amid restricted shipping activity. Iran has previously indicated that it could reopen the waterway if the United States eases military pressure and lifts its blockade of Iranian ports.
The comments came as Washington and Tehran continued diplomatic contacts on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. US and Iranian representatives have held mediated discussions, with Hormuz, sanctions and Iran’s nuclear programme among the issues surrounding the talks.
The renewed diplomacy has not removed the wider tensions between both sides. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran and Washington remained far apart on how to end the conflict, although diplomacy should continue.
Pezeshkian’s appearance at the UN also drew a walkout from a US delegation official as he began speaking.
The Iranian president further criticised US sanctions, saying their effects were being felt most heavily by poorer and vulnerable sections of Iranian society.
He also addressed the conflict in Gaza, describing it as evidence of what he called the failure of international mechanisms to prevent civilian suffering.
Pezeshkian ended his address by maintaining that Tehran remained open to negotiations but would not accept talks conducted under threats or military coercion.