On September 23, 2025, Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei unequivocally rejected negotiations with the United States and U.S. demands that the Islamic Republic end its nuclear program. His remarks immediately created anxiety among Iranians who expect tough international sanctions to follow—and perhaps a second round of Israeli air attacks.
Khamenei’s televised speech, recorded in his hideout, came as Iran’s delegation, led by President Masoud Pezeshkian, flew to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly. Some politicians had hoped that Pezeshkian might meet President Donald Trump or at least engage in diplomacy to prevent the United Nations “snapback” sanctions triggered by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in late August, related to the 2015 nuclear deal. Khamenei effectively put an end to any such hope.
Khamenei’s televised speech, recorded in his hideout, came as Iran’s delegation ... flew to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
An Iranian journalist in London posted on X: “After months of silence on nuclear talks, Khamenei spoke just hours before Pezeshkian [at the U.N.]—words that signal only a return to conflict. … The delegation might as well fly back to Tehran. If Pezeshkian and his team have any self-respect, they should resign tonight.”
Many Iranians on social media interpreted Khamenei’s statements as reflecting the reality that he faces a dead end with the West, which is pressing him to make concessions not only on the nuclear issue but also on ballistic missiles and regional policies. He simply cannot abandon policies that form the essence of his regime.
Without naming Trump, Khamenei said, “So we should sit at the negotiating table with America, and the outcome of those talks would simply be what he has already said ‘must be done’! That’s not negotiation at all.” Critics argue, however, that Tehran has been negotiating with the West for two decades, and the only result has been the expansion of its nuclear program, with uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
A few hours before Khamenei’s speech, Trump, in his United Nations address, declared: “The world’s number one sponsor of terror can never be allowed to possess the most dangerous weapon. … Today, many of Iran’s former military commanders ... are no longer with us—they’re dead,” referring to Israel’s successful targeting of top Iranian military figures in June. It is possible that Khamenei’s televised speech was recorded after Trump finished his address to the General Assembly.
Some Iranian hardliners argued that Khamenei’s speech was also a message to the Iranian delegation not to make any deals with the West. A relatively outspoken website in Tehran observed that in the past, Khamenei never delivered such speeches while the president was in New York for the annual U.N. gathering.
Khamenei’s defiant remarks also came after a week of humiliations. Tehran canceled its annual military parade on September 22, marking the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war that began in 1980. Khamenei also canceled a public meeting he usually holds on the occasion, citing security concerns, as Israel continues to dominate Iran’s airspace and threatens further attacks.
Many dissidents and activists welcomed the tough U.S. stance and noted the regime’s fear of Israeli strikes.
In addition, the Trump administration restricted the movements of the visiting Iranian delegation in New York. Delegates were confined to the United Nations headquarters and their hotel in Manhattan. Washington also denied visas to many regime propagandists traveling as a media team, as well as to Pezeshkian’s family members.
The State Department announcement on September 22 referred to its decision as denying the Iranian delegation “shopping opportunities.” In previous years, more than 100 people accompanied the Iranian president to New York, returning with dozens of suitcases filled with American goods. The U.S. statement contrasted this with the suffering of ordinary Iranians under severe economic pressures, adding: “By preventing Iranian regime officials from exploiting diplomatic travel to the U.N. as a means to obtain goods unavailable to the Iranian public, we are sending a clear message: When the United States says it stands with the people of Iran, we mean it.”
Persian social media widely discussed these humiliations. Many dissidents and activists welcomed the tough U.S. stance and noted the regime’s fear of Israeli strikes.
Perhaps an Iranian influencer on X captured the essence of Iran’s predicament best: “For supporters of the Islamic Republic, nothing is more damning than knowing their future rests with an 86-year-old man who has no way forward and no way back,” he wrote, adding: “Khamenei is visibly frail—a leader at the edge of death, with no time left for mistakes, reversals, or new directions. He is a leader without a future, and many inside the regime also know it.”
