Jerusalem Post says Pezeshkian called Trump a 'bully'; IRNA's officials call the speech 'a hard slap to the enemy'; An-Nahar says it was 'blatant interference' in Lebanon

What two outlets agree on. UN News says Pezeshkian opened with a direct rebuttal of Trump, who had called Iran the "number one sponsor of terror" the day before. The Jerusalem Post quotes him: "We have been the victims of terrorism." No other line of the speech appears in more than one outlet.

Four outlets, four speeches.

Who we do not hear from. The five IRNA reports quote no critic of the speech inside Iran. An-Nahar quotes no one from Hezbollah or Amal. We hold no reply from the White House.

What is not settled - Whether he called Trump a "bully" or quoted Game of Thrones. Only The Jerusalem Post reports either, and it got them from other outlets. Ilam's governor, quoted by IRNA, says the speech stood up to "bullies". He uses the word but names no one. - Whether he spoke of backing Lebanon's "Shia duo". Only An-Nahar reports that line. - The full text. We hold no transcript, and we hold only the opening lines of the IRNA reports.

What this is about. Iran's president used his turn at the United Nations to answer the US president. Israel, Iran and Lebanon each heard a different speech.

How it got here. The United States and Iran have had no diplomatic relations since Iran's 1979 revolution and the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran. Since 1984, Washington has listed Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism. A main reason is Iran's backing of armed groups, Hezbollah above all. Hezbollah was founded in Lebanon in the early 1980s, during Israel's invasion of the country, with support from Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Hamas led an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, and war in Gaza followed. Hezbollah and Israel then fought across the Lebanese border until a ceasefire in November 2024. In June 2025 Israel struck Iran, including its nuclear sites, and the United States joined the strikes. In August 2025 Lebanon's government told its army to bring all weapons under state control, Hezbollah's included. That remains the fault line in Beirut.

The actors. Masoud Pezeshkian was elected Iran's president in July 2024. He runs the government, but the final say belongs to the Supreme Leader, and the Revolutionary Guard answers to the Supreme Leader. Donald Trump is in his second term as US president. Hezbollah and Amal are Lebanon's two main Shia parties, known in Lebanon as the "Shia duo". Ashraf Rifi is a Lebanese MP. Richard Kouyoumjian runs foreign relations for the Lebanese Forces. Both men oppose Hezbollah.

What is at stake. Every September, heads of state address the General Assembly in turn. The speeches change no law, but they put positions on the record. If Iran's president said openly that Iran backs Hezbollah, that works against Beirut's push to disarm the group. That is why a Lebanese daily led on it.

Where it stands. The reactions we hold came the day after the speech. Iran's Guard commander speaks of war, and a Lebanese MP told An-Nahar that Israel occupies Lebanon's south. We hold no reporting on the state of either conflict this week.