WANA (Sep 03) – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei has responded to recent remarks by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about Iran, saying Washington has mistaken the depth of Iran’s history and civilization for the size of a childhood backyard.

 

In a post marking the anniversary of the death of Rais Ali Delvari and Iran’s National Day of Resistance Against British Colonialism, Baghaei recalled that more than a century ago, British forces marched into Bushehr and Tangestan, where Delvari stood against the British Empire.

 

Baghaei noted that although Delvari was killed, the resistance continued with even greater strength.

 

Baghaei Responds to Bessent

The Iranian diplomat also responded to recent remarks by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, saying the problem begins with his attempt to understand Iran through childhood memories of a backyard in South Carolina, where he had recalled killing venomous snakes with a machete and a garden rake.

 

“That is precisely where Bessent gets it wrong,” Baghaei said, arguing that he has mistaken the depth of Iran’s history, civilization and rich culture for the size of his childhood backyard.

 

Speaking at a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Asheville, Bessent said that Iranians could once again become a “normal country” and return to the international system. He also referred to Iran as a “poisonous snake” and said Washington was “burying the head of the snake,” adding that it would no longer move once the sun set.

 

In response, Baghaei recalled Britain’s military campaign in southern Iran more than a century ago, saying foreign powers had previously attempted to crush the Iranian people’s resistance through force and brutality, only to see that resistance grow stronger.

 

Addressing U.S. officials, including the Treasury secretary, Baghaei said their “chosen” and unlawful war was also supposed to bring the Iranian nation to its knees through what he described as maximum brutality.

 

“But what has collapsed more than anything else is your illusion of absolute power and all the moral credibility you claim,” he wrote.

 

Baghaei concluded by stressing that history is far broader than childhood memories and backyard experiences, adding that its judgment of those who still imagine themselves to be heroes of their own backyards will be clear.