BRICS meeting: Araghchi says US empire in decline, Iran will never bow to pressure

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the Iranian people have “firmly and proudly” stood up against horrific violence and will never surrender to the will and whims of the US imperial power, which is “in decline.”

Araghchi made the remarks as he delivered a speech to the two-day meeting of the foreign ministers of the BRICS member states in New Delhi on Thursday, hosted by Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India.

“It is a fragile reality. Imperial power in decline wants to turn back the clock, and is desperately lashing out on its way down,” he said.

“It ought to be clear that Iran is unbreakable and only emerges stronger and more united when under pressure. While ready to fight with everything we have in defense of our freedom and our soil, we are equally ready to pursue and defend diplomacy,” he added.

He noted that the United States and Israel carried out two brutal and unlawful and unjustified acts of aggression against Iran in less than a year, using false claims that run counter to the informed assessments of the International Atomic Energy Agency and even America’s own intelligence community.

Like many other independent nations, he emphasized, Iran is the victim of illegal expansionism and warmongering.

“Those who pursue reckless adventures may believe it furthers their geopolitical interests. But as consumers and governments around the world now sense and understand, regional instability is a lose-lose proposition for all sides—including the aggressors,” Araghchi said.

The leaders of the ancient land of Iran have stood courageously by their people in the pursuit of justice, independence, and the defense of sovereignty and territorial integrity, sacrificing their lives for historic and national ideals, the minister added.

He noted that the Iranian Armed Forces, medical personnel, school teachers, and law enforcement officers have never placed their own safety above saving the lives of those they are duty bound to protect, and served with honor on the front line of humanity.

Araghchi reiterated that despite all pressures, the Iranian nation continues to believe in a free, stable, and just world and ruled out a military solution to anything related to Iran.

“We Iranians never bow to any pressure or threat, but we reciprocate the language of respect. As much as our powerful armed forces remain ready to exact devastating retribution on foreign aggressors, my people are peace-loving and do not seek war. We are not the aggressor in this sordid situation, but the aggrieved,” the top diplomat pointed out.

‘Absurd, deceptive’: Tehran slams US for using ‘coercion’ to get support for anti-Iran Hormuz resolution

Iran’s Permanent Mission to the UN slams the United States for using “coercion” to rally support for its resolution regarding the Strait of Hormuz.

He said BRICS symbolizes the emergence of a new global order in which the Global South is a primary architect of the world’s future, an issue which matters to the BRICS+ group of countries as the “battle Iran has fought is in defense of all of us—of the new world that we are building together.”

The foreign minister commended BRICS countries’ support and solidarity with Iran in its fight against Western hegemony and stressed the importance of stepping up joint work towards ending the sense of impunity that the US believes it is entitled to, which has no place in today’s world.

He said Iran’s resistance against the US bullying was not an unfamiliar battle as so many states have encountered slight variations of the same repugnant coercion, adding, “It is high time for us to jointly step up and work towards making clear that those practices belong in the dustbin of history.”

He pointed to very close relations between BRICS nations and cautioned against the common and dangerous challenge posed to them.

“History has shown that Empires in decline will stop at nothing to arrest their inevitable fates. A wounded animal will desperately claw and roar on its way down,” Araghchi said.

He added that crimes such as horrific genocide, shocking violations of the sovereignty of nations, and outright state piracy on the high seas, met with the Western silence, can only take place if there is a sense of impunity.

“That false sense of entitlement must be shattered, by all of us,” the Iranian foreign minister reiterated.

Araghchi urged BRICS member states and all responsible members of the international community to explicitly condemn violations of international law by the United States and Israel, including their illegal aggression against Iran, prevent the politicization of international institutions, and take concrete action to halt warmongering and to bring an end to the impunity of those violating the UN Charter.

“We believe that BRICS can—and must—become one of the principal pillars in shaping a more just, balanced, and humane global order; an order in which might can never make right. Nations which stand up for their dignity and independence may endure hardship, but they will never be defeated,” he emphasized.

The criminal US-Israeli aggression against Iran began on February 28 with airstrikes that assassinated senior Iranian officials and commanders, including Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Iranian Armed Forces responded by launching daily missile and drone operations targeting locations in the Israeli-occupied territories as well as US military bases and assets across the region.

Iran also shut down the Strait of Hormuz to enemies and their allies following the launch on February 28 of the illegal US-Israeli aggression.

It began exercising far stricter controls last month after US President Donald Trump announced an illegal blockade of Iranian vessels and ports in violation of the terms of a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire that took effect on April 8.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir