In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
I thank Dr. Araghchi and Dr. Khatibzadeh for organizing such a conference. These conferences can play a very important role in clarifying issues related to Iran and the region. Today’s conference, which discusses aggression and defense, and the various speeches delivered today in the multiple panels, as reported to me, have well clarified the current international situation regarding the disrespect for law and international law.
Unfortunately, although great efforts were made worldwide to establish the United Nations and codify international laws, with the hope that it could govern relations between countries and prevent war and bloodshed, unfortunately, we see that the rule of law has turned into the rule of force, especially with the emergence of Mr. Trump as the President of the United States, who fundamentally does not believe in international laws, but resorts to force, pressure, and war to achieve his own objecctives.
Iran was one of the founders of the United Nations, and throughout all these periods, it has strived for the implementation of international law and the prevention of war and bloodshed. But unfortunately, the powers have always misused such an organization, and year by year, the United Nations has become weaker. Today, we see that the United Nations is in a very weak position, to the extent that the powers make any decision they want, and the UN is unable to stop their wrong decisions. We even witnessed the disrespect shown towards the UN Secretary-General himself in the recent issues of the Gaza war. This indicates the degradation of the UN from its position; instead of law being the basis and the UN being able to play its role, the rule of force has prevailed.
Anyway, the name of this conference, “Aggression and Defense,” is taken from the title of the “Aggression and Defense” conference we held at the end of the eight-year-imposed war. At that time, I was in charge of War Head Quarter, and we had a conference to which jurists and prominent figures from various countries were invited. The “Aggression and Defense” conference was very successful in examining the legal foundations of what had happened in the imposed war as a clear aggression, and became an experience for how to prevent future aggressions.
In the eight-year war, we resisted for eight years. There were many efforts for us to accept a ceasefire and then negotiate, but Iran did not accept this and strove to expel the enemy from Iranian soil by its own armed forces. This was a great success for Iran, at a time when the revolution had just happened, and enemies thought everything was in chaos, they could dismember Iran and achieve their goals, but with the will demonstrated by our dear people and our brave youth, they managed to drive the enemy out of the land of Iran.
If we examine, we see similarities between that eight-year war and the recent 12-day war. In the eight-year war, it was the people’s resistance, solidarity, and resilience that led to victory over the enemy. It was the will, decision, and motivation of our armed forces that stood against the enemy and defended the country. In the 12-day war, we see it was the same. You saw how effective the resilience and steadfastness of the people, and the solidarity the Iranians showed against foreigners, were. While the enemies wanted to cause a collapse, Iranians, wherever they were, whether inside or outside the country, clearly demonstrated their solidarity in opposing and fighting the enemy.
Self-reliance in the eight-year war and in this 12-day war was another similarity between the two incidents. In the eight-year war, we did not rely on foreigners. We relied on ourselves. In this 12-days war, you also saw that no one helped us, and it was only we ourselves who defended our country. During the eight-year war, with our capable forces, we were able to make good use of the weapons left by the previous regime. The F-14 aircraft, which had the latest technology of the time, was available to the country’s air force under the prior regime. When American experts and forces left Iran, everyone thought we couldn’t use these planes, but skilled Iranian forces managed to operate them effectively. Meaning, relying on ourselves and without the help of foreign advisors, we were able to use the existing weapons and also build other weapons ourselves. During the eight-year war, weapons production, including missiles, began. The missile is essentially a product of the war era and has now reached a stage where Iran is considered one of the missile powers in the world.
Another similarity between these two wars was that during the eight-year war, international organizations did not take any action in favor of Iran. Even when they issued Resolution 598, you see nothing in it that is in Iran’s favor; instead, all it contains is a ceasefire, exchange of prisoners, and the formation of a committee to determine who the aggressor was. Of course, the aggression was so clear that eventually the UN also specified that the aggressor was Saddam’s regime, but no help was given to the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the recent events, you also saw that the UN did not help the Islamic Republic of Iran. Only the Secretary-General advised the parties to exercise restraint. This shows that the UN really does not have the prominent role it should have.
Now, based on the similarities between these two wars and the great event, we can conclude that, first, Iranians do not submit to humiliation and stand against force. Iranians do not exchange their independence for anything. Iranians are self-reliant and, based on the slogan “We Can,” strive to solve their problems by themselves. We see this clearly today in weapons production, where, relying on our skilled forces, we have been able to defend ourselves by producing missiles and other weapons.
At the same time, when a hand of friendship is extended towards Iran, it is prepared to talk, negotiate, and achieve peace. As we did that after Saddam’s regime was toppled, when the ISIS forces, created by the Americans, were close to overthrowing the Baghdad government.  Even though the Iraqis had previously been at war with us, we went to their help. Therefore, in the face of a hand of friendship, we reacted positively and helped. Today, we help all our neighbors, including Iraq.
This question has always been raised in various meetings: How long will Iran’s steadfastness, Iran’s resistance, and Iran’s standing against force and foreigners continue? And this is a question that has always been raised. For instance, a few years ago, when I participated in the Doha Forum. Several Iranian scholars working in various think tanks met with me. Among them was Mr. Vali Nasr, who asked me in that session, how long do you intend to continue with the strategy of resistance?
I told him that until they accept the revolutionary Iran and have no choice but to accept its existence, whether they like it or not.
Recently, Mr. Vali Nasr said in an interview that over the past 40 years, Iranians have built a self-sufficient, skilled, and confident society, and that is why they have been able to withstand sanctions and pressures. He said that Iran’s strategy has two pillars: one is protecting its independence, and the second is resisting Western pressures.
The fact that Mr. Vali Nasr, as someone active in various American think tanks, has reached to this conclusion is itself very interesting, saying that protecting independence and resisting Western pressure are the two pillars of Iran’s strategy.
Anyway, Iran will not bargain over its independence with anyone. Unlike countries that are willing to auction their independence, Iran will never surrender. This spirit of “We Can” among Iranians, that when we decide, we can solve our problems and we can stand against foreigners and the bullying of others, this is, in fact, the gift of independence and resilience in the face of foreign pressure.
In addition to Mr. Nasr, recently General McKenzie, the former head of CENTCOM, who is now retired, gave a very interesting interview. Firstly, Mr. McKenzie knows the situation in the region, especially Iran, much better than Mr. Trump, because he was ultimately in charge of this matter in this region.
In his interview, he says, “Iran has a different culture and a glorious history. Iran will not disappear. This country is a nation that cannot be erased from the political map of the region. Analyzing Iran’s power is impossible without a deep historical and cultural understanding. Iran is a country whose thousands-of-years-old past has shaped its present, and in the face of the short-term, limited American perspective, it has not only remained but also increased its power and influence in the region. Imagining the disappearance of Iran is a naive illusion. This country has stood for thousands of years and will remain standing in the future. Even if we hate the current form of government in Iran, we must accept that this nation is here to stay.”
In another part of his speech, referring to the endurance and resistance of the Iranian nation, he says: “Iran has a high capacity to endure pressure and maintain its position.”
Therefore, you see our enemies are also confirming that Iran is here to stay, Iran is resilient, the Iranian people have very high resilience, the Iranian people do not surrender, and they stand by their goals.
And a significant difference between these two wars, namely the eight-year war and the 12-day war, was that while in the 12-day war, the Israeli regime attacked Iran with the help of the West and with the support and participation of America, Saddam’s regime was alone in Iraq’s military aggression against Iran. While the Israeli regime was not alone, and Western countries, especially America, helped the Israeli regime, both in arming it and with physical and operational presence in this war. They gave lethal weapons to Israel and, practically, as Mr. Trump himself recently accepted responsibility, had operational participation in this war.
Mr. Trump recently said in an interview, “Israel attacked first. This attack was very, very powerful. I was responsible for it.” Meaning he officially accepted responsibility for what I quote the German Chancellor “ the dirty work that Israel did.”
When the president of a country comes and officially accepts responsibility, naturally, he must also accept responsibility for its consequences. Therefore, it is the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to demand its rights regarding this aggression that was carried out with America’s responsibility; to demand that America pay compensation for the damages inflicted on Iran, whether material damages, human losses, or psychological damages.
The Americans themselves demand compensation for psychological damages to their people due to various incidents that happen to them; they should also pay psychological compensation to others who were harmed due to American aggression.
There is no doubt that the military operation of the Israeli regime and America against Iran’s nuclear facilities was illegal. Basically, attacking nuclear facilities is an illegal act, especially nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Therefore, since America has accepted responsibility for this war, naturally, it must also accept responsibility for its compensation.
Anyway, the US President should know that peace is not achieved through the use of force, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will stand against their bullying, and Iran, as it showed in the eight-year war and the 12-day war, will defend its rights.
At the same time, the Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently demonstrated, throughout its existence, its readiness for negotiation; however, on the principle of equality and mutual respect. The problem is that the Americans are not prepared for such negotiations; rather, they only want to impose their will on others by using force.
Naturally, Iran will never submit to this imposition. They even want to impose their illegitimate goals on Iran through economic pressure and military operations. This strategy is naturally considered a failed one by every Iranian. That is why Iranians stand against this bullying.
One of the problems America faces today is that Mr. Trump has no diplomatic background or experience. Incidentally, his team is the same way. His team also has no diplomatic background. His team was mostly reporters and showmen on Fox News and the like. They think the political and diplomatic stage is also a television stage where they can come and put on a show and advance their kind of work.
In the past, there were individuals who became US presidents and had no diplomatic background. For example, Mr. Reagan was an actor, but before becoming president, he was the governor of California for a while and gained some experience. Also, he had a strong team that built his image. Mr. Carter was a farmer, but before becoming president, he served as Georgia’s governor. So he gained some experience.
But Mr. Trump was a landlord and became president without diplomatic experience. So really, Mr. Trump, both himself and those around him, fundamentally lack the necessary diplomatic experience.
An example of this team’s inexperience was observed just recently, before the Iraqi elections. The US Secretary of War contacted the Iraqis and very rudely threatened them regarding the Popular Mobilization Forces (al-Hashd al-Sha’abi), saying You must disband the Hashd al-Sha’abi.
Well, it is very rude for one country to send a message to another country and give orders like that. The Iraqis naturally will not accept such insults. As a result of this American inexperience, the Iraqi elections were actually held very magnificently with the participation of over 59% of the people. In fact, the revolutionary forces gained a very high share of the vote, so that now most of the seats in the Iraqi parliament are in their hands.
This is the result of a lack of experience in diplomacy, which leads to acting in a way that produces the exact opposite result. Regarding Iran, with the kind of approaches that Mr. Trump and his associates have taken towards Iranians, it is natural that Iranians will not submit to these pressures and will stand against this American bullying.
Of course, struggle always has its ups and downs. There is no doubt about that. The defeat or victory in a struggle is a natural matter. If today the Israelis, with American help, committed these immense crimes in Gaza, carried out a ruthless massacre, and confronted people with famine as a weapon, this does not mean that the will of the Palestinian people can be destroyed.
Human will cannot be destroyed with guns. Therefore, if Palestine is facing this situation today due to the aggressions and crimes of the Zionist regime and American support, this does not mean that Hamas can be eliminated, this does not mean that Hezbollah in Lebanon can be eliminated, this does not mean that Ansar Allah in Yemen can be eliminated, or that the Iraqi Hashd al-Sha’abi can be eliminated under foreign pressure.
Ups and downs are natural, but humans will, in defending themselves, defending their homeland, and defending their ideals, cannot be destroyed by force, pressure, and weapons.
This is the result of the emergence of the Islamic Revolution in our country. Meaning, when the Islamic Revolution emerged, countries in the region, especially Muslims in the region, became awakened to their rights and became more determined to restore their rights.
Naturally, it is an effect of Iran’s Islamic Revolution that we see today in countries of the region, including Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and other countries, where people are fighting for their rights.
And finally, I have a recommendation for Mr. Trump. Just as Mr. Trump’s predecessors experienced and saw that Iran cannot be destroyed by force, Iran is a determined country and stands firm for restoring its rights. We observed this in the nuclear issue. When Western countries were unwilling to allow us to operate even 15 centrifuges and imposed all kinds of pressure on us, in the final days of my ministerial term, we decided to end the suspension and resume enrichment. The Americans suddenly saw 19,000 centrifuges spinning. They realized that Iran cannot be subdued by pressure. They themselves proposed, let’s negotiate. Negotiations took place through Oman and eventually led to the JCPOA.
Therefore, my recommendation to Mr. Trump is to examine and study the experience of your predecessors. Just as they were forced to ultimately accept the Islamic Republic with its current state and quality as a resistant country and nation, you too will be forced to accept the Islamic Republic of Iran. Come and engage in real negotiation with the Islamic Republic of Iran based on mutual respect and equality.
We are not averse to negotiation, but for negotiation under pressure, guns, weapons, and crime, we are naturally not prepared.
Therefore, my recommendation to Mr. Trump is to come and adopt a positive approach, showing your readiness to negotiate on the principle of equality and mutual respect, and you will see our reciprocation. Of course, at the same time, know that we will not give up enrichment for peaceful purposes, we will not lose our defensive power, and we will not auction our independence.
Thank you very much.