Iran's president rules out surrender as indirect talks with U.S. resume in New York

By Parisa Hafezi, Humeyra Pamuk and Jana ChoukeirUNITED NATIONS/DUBAI, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Iran and the United States remain far apart on how to end their war but diplomacy must continue, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, after Iran's president told the UN General Assembly that Tehran would never surrender to US pressure.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in his speech in ‌New York, condemned what he called "signs of a bullying mentality" from US President Donald Trump, who had used the same forum on Tuesday to threaten to "annihilate" Iran.The duelling speeches at the annual ‌UN gathering bookended the first shuttle talks between the US and Iran for months, though they appeared to have yielded no concessions in the public stance of either side towards ending the war.The senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tehran was reviewing Washington's ​response to its peace proposals, which prioritise lifting a US naval blockade on Iranian ports and reopening the Strait of Hormuz."There are still many differences between the Iranian and US positions, but diplomacy is continuing," the official said.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Wednesday that a deal with Iran would involve hard work over a period of time, adding that Trump also had military options.The US has also said it will impose so-called secondary sanctions against any country that allows Iranian flights after Wednesday. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told state TV Iran would ensure neighbouring countries' airports could not function if they stop Iranian flights.IRAN 'WILL NOT BOW TO PRESSURE', ‌PRESIDENT SAYSIn his address to the 193-member General Assembly, Pezeshkian homed in on ⁠the US blockade of Iranian ports and on the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war."It cannot be the case that everyone benefits from the Strait of Hormuz while we are denied access to shipping through this waterway.

The permanent deployment of hostile fleets and the ⁠expansion of the war will not lead to peace," he said."The Iranian people will not bow to pressure," he added.Iran wants to exert control over the strait and collect fees from ships that use it. Washington rejects this and says the strait must remain fully open to international shipping.Oil prices were up almost 2% on Wednesday in choppy trade as traders weighed the comments of Pezeshkian and Trump.Trump on Tuesday argued that he had prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and could "annihilate ​the ​Islamic Republic" if no deal is reached to end the conflict.Pezeshkian on Wednesday reiterated Iran's line that it is not ​seeking nuclear weapons.Iranian and US officials held their first known indirect talks on Tuesday ‌since a ceasefire collapsed in July, with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicating through mediators.Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran had conveyed conditions during a two-hour exchange of messages with Washington via a Qatari mediator.

First reported by Yahoo Entertainment.