Iran's president still has no U.S. visa, and Iran is slated to speak Sept 23. Can Pezeshkian take the U.N. podium himself?

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23, 2026, after the U.S. State Department issued him an entry visa despite weeks of uncertainty over whether Washington would let him travel. Pezeshkian told the Assembly, "We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists," and said Iran was "ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force," directing his remarks at President Trump.

The visa approval came with conditions. The State Department authorized Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to attend but denied visas to several other delegation members, including part of his media team, and restricted the delegation's movement and purchases while in New York. Iranian state media called the selective denials "an unprecedented hostile move." Pezeshkian's appearance marked the highest-level Iranian visit to the United States since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran earlier in 2026.

The Predict Six community got this one wrong: only 17 percent of voters expected Pezeshkian to reach the podium himself, given the diplomatic freeze between Washington and Tehran. His in-person address, rather than a written statement or a lower-level stand-in, proved to be the more consequential outcome.