US has no option but to drop excessive demands, respect Iran’s rights: Deputy FM

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh says the United States has no option but to abandon its excessive demands and fully respect the rights of the Iranian people, adding that diplomacy is the only solution to the crisis.  

He made the remarks in an interview with IRIB in Ankara, Turkey, on Monday.

The Iranian diplomat elaborated on the Foreign Ministry’s principal measures during the illegal US-Israeli war and negotiations between Tehran and Washington in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

Diplomacy, Khatibzadeh stated, is the sole solution to the ongoing crisis in the region.

“The United States has tried war and may again imagine that it can achieve something by remaining on the path of war.”

Iran, he said, is resolute in defending its national security and territorial integrity and will never compromise in this regard.

Iran’s adversaries sought to disintegrate the country and had lined up certain armed groups but they failed, Khatibzadeh said.

“The enemies thought they could create cognitive confusion among the [Iranian] people and then push them to act against their own country. However, the overwhelming majority of the people stood up against this.”

Khatibzadeh said Iranians are facing a “vile” enemy, whose scale of shamelessness, hostility, and crime is immeasurable.

“Yet despite all this, a people, a nation, and a country like Iran has no choice but to emerge victorious in this national battle, in this national resistance. Defeat is not an option,” he said.

The Iranian diplomat placed a premium on standing strong for the sake of an ancient history. “The will of a nation shows that it can come out victorious; and we will be victorious.”

The great people of Iran must know that the country does not act in blind obedience to orders, Khatibzadeh said.

The Islamic Republic, he added, moves along the path it has defined based on its own strategic framework. “We will continue our strong resistance to protect the high interests of this country and its people and we fear no threat.”

Iran will not accept anything beyond international law

Khatibzadeh assured the Iranian nation that the Islamic Republic would accept no commitments beyond international law.

“If the United States reaches this level of rationality, there will be no obstacle, and a mutual understanding can be reached very quickly. It seems, however, that the US currently does not intend to fully understand that matter,” he said.

He said messages have been exchanged between Tehran and Washington and other countries are currently aware of Iran’s positions.

The United States and Israel launched their illegal war of aggression against Iran on February 28. They assassinated Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and struck nuclear facilities, schools, hospitals and civilian infrastructure.

On April 8, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) announced that there was an agreement to a Pakistan-brokered temporary ceasefire after the US accepted Iran’s 10-point proposal.

Senior Iranian and American negotiators held approximately 21 hours of talks in Islamabad on April 11 without an agreement, with Iranian officials blaming Washington for its excessive demands and shifting positions.

With the two-week ceasefire set to expire on April 22, Donald Trump, the president of the US, said an American delegation would be in Islamabad on Monday for talks with Iran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters on Monday that Tehran has no plans to take part in the talks in Islamabad, as tensions remain high with the US continuing an illegal blockade of Iranian ports.

The naval blockade coupled with US excessive demands and shifting positions have hindered progress in the talks, reports said.

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