Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking at the UN, has accused Washington of “terrorism” for assassinating former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the conflict, insisting Tehran had never started a war, AFP reports.

Pezeshkian has made no reference to the talks to resolve the stalled war in his steely speech.

“(Trump) must know that the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying. We will never bow our head or bend at the knee,” he has said.

Pezeshkian has insisted Tehran would not allow the Strait of Hormuz to be used as leverage against his country.

“We cannot let some have free access and bolster their interests from the waterway, while at the same time using that waterway to impose their aggression upon us,” he says.