“Americans are trapped” – Iranian ambassador

Ambassador of Iran to Uzbekistan Mohammad Ali Iskandariy answered similar questions in an interview on Kun.uz’s “Geosiyosat” program.

– Which article of the memorandum signed with the USA does the Iranian government consider the most important achievement?

— At the beginning of our conversation, I should say that America entered the war with the plan of surrendering Iran. This plan was a misinformed proposal by Netanyahu to Trump. However, four days after the start of the war, they themselves realized that this decision was wrong. After that, the situation changed and the process went on for about 80 days until Iran was able to put forward its terms and get them accepted.

That is, the process took such a shape that at first America expected Iran’s unconditional surrender, in the end the situation turned in the opposite direction – Iran was able to strengthen its position and force the enemy to compromise. If you look carefully at the clauses in the memorandum, this situation will be more clearly understood.

But the most important achievement was the agreement to stop hostilities on all fronts. Also, the frozen assets of Iran will be returned, the sanctions against Iran will be lifted, and the damages will be compensated through restoration projects. Of course, these are important achievements. But the real result goes deeper than that:

First, this process has shown that Iran cannot be surrendered militarily. The country has a strong deterrent capacity, which relies on internal unity, cohesion and strong political institutions.

Second, it became clear that external forces could not force their position through false narratives. Pressure does not always work.

Third, this process has proven that security and peace cannot be unilateral. If instability is created in the region, stable peace cannot be ensured there.

Also, as a result of these events, Iran took a stronger position than before. In a sense, Trump’s decisions have made Iran more geopolitically stronger. For a long time, Iran tried to maintain a balance with the countries of the region. However, as a result of US miscalculations and political decisions, this position has changed and Iran has entered the stage of active action.

— If Israel continues strikes on Lebanon, will Iran accept it as a violation of the memorandum?

— The issue is not limited to Lebanon. We are talking about all the countries in the region, in particular, that are being invaded and attacked by the Zionist regime. It is known that Israel has been pushing the idea of ​​occupying it from the Nile to the Euphrates. In order to implement this idea, he carried out military actions against many countries in the region.

For example, in the last 3 years, more than 70,000 innocent Palestinians have died. Tens of thousands of people were killed in Lebanon earlier. Also, Israel has regularly carried out attacks on the territory of Syria and carried out attacks on Yemen. In general, there is almost no area in the region that is free from Israeli military operations.

The Islamic Republic of Iran insists that this oppression must be stopped. Because in such conditions it is impossible to ensure peace and stability in the region. Israel’s attack on any region with the support of the USA and some Western countries is a serious threat to the international system and the stability of the region. It is for this reason that peace and tranquility in the region are being undermined by Israel’s actions.

Currently, the issue of Lebanon is being discussed separately due to the temporary suspension of military operations in other areas. However, despite US and Israeli commitments to end attacks on Lebanon, these attacks continue. During the talks mediated by Pakistan, the US promised to stop aggression against Lebanon. Therefore, the responsibility for any attack against Lebanon falls directly on the US.

At the same time, a special monitoring committee was established to monitor the situation in Lebanon. This structure serves to manage conflict and ensure compliance with agreements. In this process, the United States and Iran undertook certain obligations. In particular, the United States has undertaken to ensure compliance with the ceasefire regime throughout the region. If the United States does not follow through on these commitments, Iran may also cease to follow through on its commitments.

— During the war, Iran struck US allies in the Persian Gulf. What was the military and legal basis for this decision?

— During the war, we acted only based on the law, within the framework of international law. It should also be noted that the concept of international law is often used against us. The positive aspects of this procedure rarely touch us. Nevertheless, we still strictly adhered to the norms of international law. Resolution 30314 of the General Assembly of the United Nations, in particular its paragraph 3, clearly states that the territory of a state cannot be used for aggression against another state.

If the territory of a country is used to attack a third country, then such a country is not considered neutral. From this point of view, if an attack was carried out against us using the territory of another country, it is illegal aggression from the point of view of international law. According to Article 51 of the UN Charter, any state has the right to lawful self-defense. In today’s situation, US military bases are located on the territory of some countries, and it is from these territories that military operations against Iran are carried out. This includes not only strikes, but also processes such as the flight of military aircraft, missile attacks, fueling, planning and control of operations.

In such a situation, the states of the Persian Gulf can be in one of two situations: either they are unable to prevent such actions (which shows their weakness), or they have consciously allowed it. In both cases, they lose their neutral status and are considered indirect partners in aggression.

Nevertheless, we are not enemies with our neighboring countries. They are our Muslim brothers and close neighbors. We saw any action against them as coercive measures, that is, as a response to aggression against us. Proportion was the main principle in our actions. Whichever country participated in the aggression and to what degree, the response was exactly the same.

In addition, we kept the escalation under strict control and did not allow the situation to get out of control. The strikes were aimed only at US military bases and military interests.

If there were strikes in the region on behalf of Iran on other objects, it can be noted that these were actions under a “false flag” and were carried out by other forces. We followed the laws of war, only struck military targets and did not harm civilians or civilian infrastructure. This war was forced upon us. We have lived peacefully with neighboring countries for thousands of years and have never attacked them. We have always respected each other.

But if attacks are launched against us from their territory, we cannot stand by. At the same time, these countries are our friends, and they have a role even in the current negotiation processes. They themselves are suffering from Israel’s thoughtless actions. The dangers of Zionism are the same for all of us.

Of course, they have their own policies, which we understand and respect. Nevertheless, we maintain good neighborly and cooperative relations with them. They are still our main trading partners and we have supported each other in difficult times. This cooperation will continue in the future.

From the very beginning, we have openly warned all our neighboring countries: if the territory of any country is used to carry out aggression against Iran, then these objects can become targets of a legitimate response. At the same time, it should be noted that Turkey and Azerbaijan did not allow such actions. They made it clear that they did not allow attacks against Iran from their territory. It is for this reason that we officially announced after these events that no military action was taken against the territories of Turkey and Azerbaijan. Some of the attacks were carried out under a “false flag” and their purpose was to artificially increase tensions in the region. Such attempts may be aimed at drawing Turkey and Azerbaijan into the conflict. However, these two countries are well aware of the situation and now they know for sure that there has been no attack on them by Iran. At that time, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran immediately issued an official statement, stating that these incidents were not related to Iran.

We also expressed to the Turkish and Azerbaijani sides that we are ready to jointly study and investigate any incident and, if necessary, cooperate through joint mechanisms. Iran’s relations with these countries have always been good. There is mutual trust and cooperation.

At the same time, some sources also noted that Israeli officials mentioned Turkey as the next target in the context of plans related to Iran. This shows that Israel’s policy poses a threat not only to Iran, but to the entire region. Therefore, Iran is not a source of threat to neighboring countries, on the contrary, it respects their security and stability. We have always respected the territorial integrity of our neighboring countries and supported each other in difficult times. We believe that this good neighborly and cooperative relationship will continue in the future.

You can watch the interview in full on the “Geosiyosat | Kun.uz” YouTube channel.