During a press conference on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei issued a defiant message to the international community, asserting that the Iranian people are "fully prepared to defend their home soil."
Addressing recent comments from US President Donald Trump regarding American influence over the country, Baghaei maintained that Iran's future will be defined solely by "the will of our people," rather than by external pressure.
Baghaei took aim at the United States for undermining the peace process, accusing Washington of having "torpedoed" diplomatic negotiations that were ongoing prior to the latest military strikes.
He characterised the timing of the attacks as a betrayal of ongoing dialogue, stating that "they waged a war while we were fully engaged in diplomatic discourse." Consequently, he said the country is now "with one voice defending our nation" against what he described as a blatant disregard for global legal standards.
Baghaei further argued that the joint actions of the United States and Israel have put international law at risk, claiming that "they have violated all international norms and practices."
The spokesman's rhetoric sharpened as he outlined what he believes to be the underlying motives behind the current military pressure. Baghaei accused the US of orchestrating a campaign to seize Iran's natural resources and fracture its territory.
He said that "their design is clear, their enterprise is quite obvious – they aim to partition our country in order to take illegal possession of our oil riches."
He further described the campaign as a broader assault on the nation's identity, asserting that "their objective is to violate our sovereignty, defeat our people, and undermine our humanity."
Regional relations and denial of neighbouring strikes
Despite the escalating conflict, Baghaei insisted that Iran remains "adamant to maintain good and friendly relations" with neighbouring countries. While several regional states have been caught in the crossfire of missile and drone activity, the spokesman clarified that Iran's actions are purely defensive.
He emphasised that "our act of defence cannot be interpreted as hostility toward any of these countries," though he warned that Iran retains the "right to defence" if neighbouring territories are used as staging grounds for attacks against it.
Baghaei also denied reports that Iranian munitions had targeted Turkey, Cyprus, or Azerbaijan in recent days. He stated firmly that "no offensives were initiated from Iranian territory" toward those nations.
He suggested that such reports could be the result of provocations by adversaries, noting that "we have repeatedly warned that the enemy may stage certain attacks to drive a wedge between us and other countries."
When asked about the possibility of mediation or a potential ceasefire, Baghaei dismissed the conversation as premature while active combat continues.
He noted that "as we speak, military confrontations are still underway," arguing that discussing anything other than immediate defence is currently "irrelevant."
Framing the conflict as a forced engagement rather than an act of aggression by Tehran, he concluded: "We did not initiate or start this war. It is not a war of choice. It is a war of necessity that was imposed on us."
(With inputs from IANS)
