WATCH: Iran’s Rouhani strikes defiant tone under U.S. sanctions

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani is expected to speak at the 75th session of the U.N. General Assembly as the world continues to fight the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic.

Watch Rouhani’s remarks in the player above.

The president-elect of the session is warning the coronavirus pandemic poses a “serious threat” to global security.

Volkan Bozkir, a Turkish diplomat, is taking on the role as the U.N. grapples with an unprecedented pandemic, and questions the future direction it should take.

Speaking before delegates at the General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Bozkir said “the pandemic has been used to justify unilateral steps and weaken the rules-based international system.”

He argued “these criticisms are not baseless, but their conclusions are misguided.

Bozkir pledged to deepen international cooperation amongst states to combat the spread of the disease.