Iran-US clash at UN General Assembly

The United States and Iran clashed on security and human rights, with Iranian President demanding US guarantees to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the US President vowing Tehran would never get an atomic bomb.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi struck a defiant tone at the United Nations General Assembly by decrying "double standards" on human rights after the death of an Iranian woman in police custody that has sparked protests around Iran.

Raisi also said Tehran wanted former US President Donald Trump to face trial for the 2020 killing of Iran's top Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in a US drone attack in Iraq, holding up a picture of the general.

"There is a great and serious will to resolve all issues to revive the (2015 nuclear) deal," Raisi told the UN General Assembly. "We only wish one thing: observance of commitments."

Speaking later, US President Joe Biden reiterated his willingness to revive the nuclear pact under which Iran had agreed to restrain its atomic program in return for relief from economic sanctions.

In 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal and unilaterally reimposed sanctions that have hobbled Iran's economy.

A year later, Tehran reacted by gradually violating the deal's nuclear limits and reviving US, Israeli and Gulf Arab fears that Iran may be seeking to obtain an atomic weapon, an ambition Iran denies.

"We have before us the experience of America's withdrawal from the (deal)," Raisi said. "With that experience and this perspective, can we ignore the important issue of guarantees for a durable agreement?"

Raisi did not mention Iran's demand that investigations by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) into traces of uranium found at three undeclared Iranian sites be closed, a major stumbling block to reviving the deal.

The US and European officials have said the probes can only be closed if Iran provides satisfactory answers to the UN nuclear watchdog whose chief, Rafael Grossi, said these issues cannot be wished away.

"The Islamic Republic considers the double standards of some governments in the field of human rights as the most important factor in the institutionalization of human rights violations," Raisi said in a text of his speech released by his office.

"Human rights belongs to all, but unfortunately it is trampled upon by many governments," Raisi added, referring to the discovery of unmarked graves of indigenous people in Canada, the suffering of the Palestinians and images of migrant children held in cages in the United States.

"While the United States is prepared for a mutual return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action if Iran steps up to its obligations, the United States is clear. We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon," Biden said.

"We stand with the brave citizens and the brave women of Iran who right now are demonstrating to secure their basic rights," Biden added.