AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Seyyed Abbas Araghchi delivered a speech at the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
The speech is as follows:
"Your Excellency Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Honorable Minister of External Affairs of India,
Honorable Foreign Ministers of BRICS member states,
Distinguished high representatives,
Esteemed colleagues,
As you have all witnessed, my country has been subjected to two brutal and illegal aggressions by the United States and Israel in less than a year.
The attacks against our people have been justified by false claims that contradict the informed assessments of the International Atomic Energy Agency and even the estimates of America's own intelligence agencies. The truth is that Iran, like many independent countries, has fallen victim to illegal expansionism and warmongering. These are ugly phenomena that have no place in today's world. Those who seek reckless adventures may think these actions serve their geopolitical interests. But as nations and governments around the world have come to realize, regional instability is a lose-lose situation for all parties, including the aggressors themselves.
In the face of this horrific violence, the Iranian people have defended themselves with steadfastness and pride. Did we retreat from our ideal of independence? Did we submit to the will and whims of the hegemonic powers? The answer is clear: we never have, and we never will.
I come from an ancient land—a land whose leaders have courageously stood alongside their people to achieve justice, independence, and to defend sovereignty and territorial integrity, sacrificing their lives for their historical and national ideals.
I speak on behalf of an Iran whose armed forces, healthcare workers, teachers, and law enforcement personnel have never once prioritized their own personal security over saving the lives of the people they were duty-bound to protect, and have served with pride on the front lines of humanity.
I speak on behalf of a people who chose steadfastness under horrific bombings; of the mothers of Minab who did not bow under the weight of losing their children; of the youth who will not let the dust of war obliterate their bright future; and of a nation that, despite all pressures, still believes in a free, stable, and just world.
It should now be clear to everyone that Iran is invincible and emerges stronger and more united whenever it is pressured. Just as we are ready to fight with all our might to defend our freedom and land, we are equally ready to pursue and uphold diplomacy.
As I have emphasized repeatedly, there is no military solution to any issue concerning Iran. We Iranians will never bow to any pressure or threat, but we respond to respect with respect. While our powerful armed forces are ready to give a crushing and devastating response to foreign aggressors, our people are peace-loving and do not desire war. In this shameful situation, we are not the aggressors; we are the party that has been wronged and subjected to aggression.
Mr. Chairman, esteemed colleagues,
Over the past year, I have had the honor of attending two BRICS meetings to express the Iranian government's belief that this mechanism is a symbol of the emergence of a new world order—an order in which the Global South is one of the main architects of the future of the world. What was once an ambitious ideal has now become a reality, but this reality is fragile. Declining imperialist powers want to turn back time and, in their downward spiral, react aggressively out of desperation.
This issue is of fundamental importance to the BRICS-Plus grouping, because the battle Iran has stood firm in is a defense of all its members and a defense of the new world we are building. Our brave soldiers have sacrificed their lives to confront Western hegemony and the impunity that America thinks it enjoys. Although Iran is grateful for the support and solidarity of the BRICS countries, we must all increase our efforts to put an end to this sense of superiority and impunity on the part of America—a sentiment that has no place in today's world.
For nearly everyone present at this meeting, resistance to American bullying is not an unfamiliar struggle. Many of us face different forms of this same hateful pressure and coercion.
Now is the time for us to work together to make it clear that such behavior must be relegated to the dustbin of history.
Today, our nations are closer to one another than ever before, and we cannot ignore the common, dangerous threat we all face.
History has shown that declining empires spare no effort to prevent their inevitable fate. A wounded animal, as it falls, claws and roars in desperation. The discarding of all pretense and masks can be seen in the atrocities that the West has either openly pursued or shamelessly financed and supported politically in the Global South—whether in Asia, Africa, or Latin America. What was once considered unimaginable and deeply shameful is now either ignored or openly accepted in Western capitals: horrific genocides, shocking violations of state sovereignty, and blatant piracy on the high seas. These crimes, and Western silence in the face of them, are only possible when there is a sense of impunity and immunity. This false sense of superiority and impunity must be shattered by all of us.
Therefore, Iran calls upon the BRICS member states and all responsible members of the international community to unequivocally condemn the violations of international law by the United States and Israel, including their illegal aggression against Iran; to prevent the politicization of international institutions; and to take practical action to stop warmongering and end the impunity of the violators of the UN Charter.
We believe that BRICS can—and must—become one of the main pillars in shaping a world order that is more just, more balanced, and more humane—an order in which power is never a substitute for right.
Nations that stand for their dignity and independence may endure great hardships, but they will never be defeated.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for your attention."
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