Iran will not surrender in its war with the US but believes in diplomacy to try to end the conflict, ‌Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has told an annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.

The American delegation walked out at the start of Pezeshkian’s speech on Wednesday (local time).

The US ‌mission to ‌the ⁠United Nations did not immediately respond to a ​request for comment.

The Strait of Hormuz, conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas before the war, has become a focus of tensions between Iran and the ⁠US.

“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,” Pezeshkian said.

He also said the Iranian people had been “victims of terrorism” by the US. He condemned US attacks on what he described as civilian targets early in the Iran war, including a girls’ school and a sports complex in the country’s south.

Pezeshkian held up photos of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the more than 150 school children killed on the first days of the war.

“We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” he said at the General Assembly.

“Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country. And we defended ourselves with utmost strength. America and Israel attacked us.”

He added of the United States: “Yes they did hit us but we did not bend the knee.”

Pezeshkian addressed the 193-member ​General ​Assembly a day after ​US President Donald Trump spoke.

Trump used his speech on Tuesday to make the case for his war on Iran, arguing he has prevented the country’s authorities from obtaining a nuclear weapon and warning that he could “annihilate ​the Islamic Republic” if no deal is reached to ​end the conflict.

Trump said his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met  Iranian officials on the sidelines of the gathering for about three hours. But he offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchange.

“It was a very good meeting,” Trump said.

Also on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump was open to meeting with Pezeshkian while he is in New York.

-with AP and DPA