Baghaei: Iran’s Priority is Defense; Diplomacy Was Betrayed Three Times by the US
WANA (Jul 23) – In an exclusive interview, Esmaeil Baghaei, the Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, addressed key regional and international developments.
Speaking on the foreign policy challenges facing Tehran, Baghaei elaborated on the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States and its subsequent violation by Washington, the ongoing military operations and escalations in the region, the position of European powers, and maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz.
Are any diplomatic channels currently open between Iran and other parties?
Esmaeil Baghaei: They are (Americans) communicating messages, but for Iran, the priority right now is to defend our sovereignty, territorial integrity, and to protect our people against these war crimes that the United States is committing. Mediators are doing their own job—that’s part of their responsibility—but for us, because we are under bombardment and under attack, we have to focus on defending Iran right now.
How does Tehran view the recent US military attacks on Iranian cities after the ceasefire?
Esmaeil Baghaei: For us, these military operations are the continuation of the illegal war that began on February 28th. At one point, we witnessed a ceasefire. We entered the negotiation process in good faith—both for the sake of our own people and for the security of the region and the world, we negotiated in good faith and succeeded in reaching a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the termination of the war on all fronts.
What happened was that the United States, from the very first days, began making excuses to avoid fulfilling its commitments. Under Paragraph 5 of the MoU, we had a 30-day window to restore commercial shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz—that is, from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa—to its pre-war state. Iran fulfilled all of its obligations to facilitate the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz. However, on the 21st or 22nd day following the signing of the MoU, the United States launched a large-scale military aggression against Iran, under the pretext that incidents against commercial shipping had occurred in the Strait of Hormuz.
Official Signing of the Persian and English Versions of the Iran–U.S. MoU
WANA (Jun 18) – Sources familiar with the negotiation process have revealed that the Persian text of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the United States was formally signed alongside the English version, with both documents recognized as official texts by the two parties. According to Iranian officials, this was achieved following persistent […]
Therefore, what you are witnessing in various Iranian cities, committed by the United States, is an act of aggression and an illegal war—a continuation of the war that the United States and Israel launched against Iran on February 28th.
Who is responsible for the recent disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz?
Esmaeil Baghaei: We have been generous for decades. We have been the guardians of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf for a long time. Instead, what did we receive? We were the guardians of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and we ensured the safe passage of ships and vessels through this strait while we were under crippling sanctions for the past decades.
The incidents that took place in the Strait of Hormuz were not because of Iran. Again, you cannot ignore the fact: the whole chaos is the result of the American-Israeli act of aggression that started on February 28th. You cannot say, “Let’s put aside the whole story and focus on one specific episode.” What is happening right now in the Strait of Hormuz and in the whole region is the direct consequence of the American-Israeli act of aggression against Iran.
What were Iran’s obligations under Paragraph 5 of the MoU regarding maritime traffic?
Esmaeil Baghaei: On the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, our obligation was clear-cut, transparent, and very clear. Under Paragraph 5 of the MoU, we undertook to ensure the safe passage of ships within 30 days from the signature of the MoU. They didn’t even let us do our job within this 30-day period. Before we even came to the conclusion of this period, they started attacking Iran again.
During this period, Iran’s obligation was clear in terms of managing the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz in consultation with Oman and in discourse with other Persian Gulf littoral states. Iran and Oman are the only coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz. Again, don’t forget this strait was abused by the United States and Israel to attack Iran, so we cannot let it go like nothing has happened. Iran cannot let the Strait of Hormuz be abused again and again by the aggressors to harm our national security.
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The Americans, with the support of certain countries in the region, were responsible for such incidents, so we cannot accept that Iran be blamed. It is the United States and Israel that started this war of aggression. The Strait of Hormuz was open before February 28th. The international community must understand that Iran must not be blamed for the wrongdoing of others. We are entitled to protect our national security and our people from this scourge of war that is imposed on our nation.
Has the US fulfilled its commitment to unfreeze Iranian financial assets?
Esmaeil Baghaei: Everything was stopped. You see, our obligation was clear; the United States’ obligations were also clear. They undertook to release Iranian blocked assets. And again, please remember that this is our own money; this is not US money.
Sometimes in mainstream media, they picture the whole story as if the United States is going to give a certain amount of financial contribution or money to Iran. That’s not the case. It’s our own money that has been unlawfully frozen for a long time.
So, they were supposed to let us have free access to our own money. But again, they failed because right after these incidents, they overreacted and, in a way, they violated all parts of this MoU. This unfreezing of our assets was part of that obligation that they stopped implementing.
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WANA (Jun 24) – The U.S. president claimed that Iran does not charge fees on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz and announced a plan under which part of Iran’s frozen assets would be used to buy American wheat, corn, and soybeans. Trump also suggested that U.S. inspectors could join international nuclear inspectors in […]
Is there any room left for diplomatic dialogue between Tehran and Washington?
Esmaeil Baghaei: Right now, we are focused on defending Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity. For any dialogue to take place, you need a suitable ground, and the United States destroyed such a ground. Let us keep in mind that this marks the third time over the past year. Twice before, while we were engaged in negotiations, we were attacked by the United States and Israel.
This time, too, after the Memorandum of Understanding was signed—which was signed by the President of the United States himself—they violated it. This is not a long and complex Memorandum of Understanding; it is a short, 14-paragraph MoU, and the whole world expected that, at least this time, the United States would carry out its commitments.
This MoU has no ambiguity and is not open to interpretation. What the United States did was a gross violation of various paragraphs of this agreement, and for the third time, diplomacy was betrayed.
Will Iran return to negotiations given current regional mediation efforts?
Esmaeil Baghaei: We have never run away from the negotiation table, because we know that we are fighting for our legitimate rights. For us, the negotiation table holds the exact same value and status as the battlefield. Our diplomats are doing the same job that our armed forces are doing to secure Iran’s rights.
Therefore, we have no fear of negotiations. However, negotiations in the true sense of the word—not a negotiation whose goal is to dictate or impose—we will certainly not accept.
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WANA (Jul 18) – In a message addressed to the Iranian people, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution expressed appreciation for the massive public turnout at the funeral procession of the “Martyr of Iran,”(Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei) describing it as an “unprecedented and historic epic.” At the same time, he said that the United […]
In the current situation, mediators—both Pakistan and Qatar—are active and exchanging messages. But as I mentioned, the Iranian nation is currently focused on defending Iran’s borders to protect the lives and security of Iranian citizens who have been cruelly subjected to American attacks.
How does Tehran view the foreign role in recent January domestic unrest?
Esmaeil Baghaei: We are a peaceful nation and we are proud of our people. I don’t know if you were there in Iran when millions of Iranians poured into the streets of Tehran and Qom in the funeral procession of our martyred leader. Those are the people of Iran.
So yes, we had this unrest. 3,000 Iranians were killed, and I think right now it is crystal clear for everyone that those unrests were part of an Israeli-American conspiracy in Iran. This is not our claim; this is what President Trump said. He said that, yes, “we sent weaponry, we sent arms to Iranians, but we don’t know what happened to them.” So they confessed that that was part of their plan, their scheme to instill violence in Iran and weaken the state, and then they created all of these exaggerated numbers about deaths.
Western official and media reports claim Tehran is underreporting the casualty figures from the unrest. How do you respond to these accusations?
Esmaeil Baghaei: Every single life is precious, and we are sorry for each and every Iranian citizen who was killed during those unrests. Most of them were gunned down by those who had infiltrated within demonstrators, because that was a peaceful demonstration. It turned violent after they used guns to kill our police officers and security personnel—at least 250 police officers were gunned down by these terrorists who had infiltrated within the lines of demonstrators.
What are the prospects for achieving long-term peace in the region?
Esmaeil Baghaei: Iranians have never sought war. We were attacked, and we had to defend ourselves. We showed to the whole world that we are resolute and steadfast in defending our sovereignty and our dignity. When it comes to peace, it is not easy to secure peace in our region because there are forces that are always seeking war. We have a genocidal regime that, for the past eight decades, has been waging continuous war against—literally speaking—each and every country in the region.
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What is the main driver of ongoing instability in the Middle East?
Esmaeil Baghaei: Can you really imagine that a true country—one that believes it should live in peaceful coexistence with its neighbors—can kill so many people in cold blood?
There is a colonial erasure of the whole of Palestine, and this is not my word—this is Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. She says that what is happening in Occupied Palestine is the colonial erasure of a whole nation. Look what they did to Gaza, and right now what they are doing to other parts of Occupied Palestine, including the West Bank, and what they are doing against the Lebanese. They have attacked at least eight countries over the past two or three years. How can a true country rooted in this region treat other people in its vicinity like that? That is one main reason why our region is under these endless wars.
How does US support for Israel undermine international institutions like the ICC and ICJ?
Esmaeil Baghaei: The other reason is the United States’ intervention in our region. They have been solely supporting Israel and shielding it against any sort of accountability, granting Israel maximum impunity.
Look what they did to the ICC. The International Criminal Court is not a creation of Iran or developing states; Europeans have always boasted about creating a world court of justice. Look at how the United States and others treated the ICJ after South Africa and others brought genocide cases against Israel. They have even been punishing ICC judges simply because they dared to begin prosecuting Israeli officials for committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei speaks during an interview in Tehran, Iran, Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)
How does Tehran evaluate Europe’s performance following the US withdrawal from the JCPOA?
Esmaeil Baghaei: To tell you the truth, I think Europeans owe us a lot. Why am I saying so? Because the Europeans failed to perform their commitments under the JCPOA in the first place. When the United States withdrew from the JCPOA, we expected Europeans to compensate for the US withdrawal. So for one long year, we waited for them; we didn’t reciprocate the US withdrawal from the JCPOA. But the Europeans, unfortunately, failed to do so—not because they were unable, but because they preferred to appease the United States.
And I think that was a pity, because the JCPOA was a landmark achievement of European foreign policy, and Europeans were able to play a constructive role regarding a very important file that was on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council. They managed to liaise between Iran and the United States, and that could be a good model of international interaction and a good model of Europeans playing a responsible role in saving peace and security globally.
How did European policies further damage relations with Iran after the nuclear deal collapsed?
Esmaeil Baghaei: What happened later on was a catastrophic failure. Worse than that, Europeans took side with the United States in what they call ‘snapping back’ the Security Council resolutions against Iran. And what was the worst-case scenario for Iranians was when certain European countries endorsed Israeli-American attacks against Iran.
How do you evaluate Europeans’ reaction to US-Israeli military actions?
Esmaeil Baghaei: The Europeans knew that the US-Israeli attacks against Iran were fundamentally unlawful against the United Nations Charter. It was a stark violation of Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the United Nations Charter. It was against the founding values that the Europeans have been taking pride in propagating. So they failed not only in condemning those acts of aggression, but they even rushed to justify those acts of aggression.
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And then that approach repeated during the US-Israeli second war against Iran that started on February 28th. Remember that no European country explicitly condemned that attack. It was an unprovoked act of aggression, so Europeans need to do a lot to gain the Iranians’ trust.
We’re not happy that the Europeans failed to play their deserved role in world politics, because we need an independent European Union that can have their own say in world politics. And I can tell you that appeasing the bully would not save them from the bully’s attacks—that would simply further embolden the bully. The Europeans need to go back to the core values that they believe should govern international politics: the rule of law at the international level, international humanitarian law, and human rights.
How does Iran view Western claims regarding human rights in Iran?
Esmaeil Baghaei: What bothers us a lot is double standards. We do not claim that we are perfect. The Europeans also should be modest enough to understand that they are not perfect, that they cannot preach to others while committing the same sins, while perpetrating or at least endorsing the same crimes, while they are keeping silent at a horrible genocide that took place in occupied Palestine, for instance.
They cannot preach to Iranians about human rights. They cannot pretend that they are concerned about the execution of one or two criminals, while keeping silent over the massacre of Iranians—Iranian kids, Iranian students in Minab, in Lamerd, and in other places.
What effect have recent US military threats had on international humanitarian law?
Esmaeil Baghaei: Look what happened during the United States-Israeli act of aggression against Iran. I think the whole architecture of international humanitarian law was slaughtered. You can no longer talk about international humanitarian law when the United States Secretary of War says there is “no quarter, there is no mercy, there are no stupid rules of engagement.” So, in a way, they are saying that from now on, there will be no international humanitarian law.
And if Europeans are really true to what they claim about the rule of law and international humanitarian law—and please don’t forget that Switzerland, for instance, is the custodian of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949—why did they prefer to keep silent about the United States threatening Iran with blowing up our bridges and our power plants? Don’t you think that the simple announcement that “we are going to annihilate the whole civilization” is an expression of intent for genocide? So that’s why I’m saying that if Europeans want to be regarded as credible defenders of human rights, they need to stop acting hypocritically and with double standards.
