AhlulBayt News Agency: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has emphasized that the US military presence in the region not only does not create security, but is the main cause of insecurity and instability.
During a weekly press conference on Wednesday, Baqaei addressed journalists regarding the ceasefire and diplomatic engagements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman. He described the future of relations with these regional countries as promising but emphasized that this vision depends on all parties learning from recent events.
He added, “The first lesson is that the presence of the US military in the region does not create security; rather, it is a major cause of insecurity and instability. Second, regional security can only be achieved through cooperation among the regional countries themselves. Third, regional nations must not allow the US and the Israeli regime to use their facilities and territory to launch attacks on other countries.”
Baqaei emphasized that Iran is committed to fostering relations with its regional neighbors based on principles of good neighborliness, friendship, and mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. However, he noted that Iran has concerns about certain regional countries that have, either knowingly or unknowingly, allowed their land, sea, and air facilities to be used by the US and the Israeli regime to carry out attacks against Iran.
In response to US claims regarding a naval blockade of Iran, the spokesperson said, “First, Iran cannot be blockaded. Second, if the US fails to achieve results through diplomacy, then pressure tactics will also not succeed. Third, this provocative action is contrary to international law and could be seen as a violation of the ceasefire.”
He added that Iran is monitoring developments and will respond proportionally if necessary.
In reaction to an op-ed in The Washington Post that threatened Iranian negotiators with assassination, Baqaei said that this is not just an article but an expression of a school of thought.
He emphasized that even in the Middle Ages, diplomatic envoys were granted immunity, yet in the 21st century, a country that hosts the UN headquarters and claims to champion democracy is threatening to murder Iranian diplomats – an issue that should awaken the world.
The spokesperson added that those who raise such threats should be tried in a fair court for incitement to violence and state terrorism.
He said clearly that threatening to assassinate negotiators solely because they insist on Iran’s national rights is both a violation of the principles and rules of international law and contrary to all human, ethical, and civilizational standards.
In response to Russia’s warning that the US and the Israeli regime might use the ongoing talks as a pretext for another attack on Iran, Baqaei said that the answer is clear. He emphasized that not only in the present but also during previous periods, the defenders of the homeland have been monitoring developments more vigilantly than in wartime conditions and are fully prepared to counter any adventurism.
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