Iran: Defense capabilities essential to national security, not open to negotiation

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei says the country's defense capabilities are essential to its national security and cannot be the subject of negotiations or compromise, dismissing a joint “meddlesome” statement issued by the United States and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

In a post on social media platform X on Friday, Baghaei slammed the statement issued following the Ministerial Meeting between the United States and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, convened on Thursday in Manama, describing it as “a distortion of reality” and a persistence in trying previously failed policies on regional security concerns.

"The country's security and national dignity are not negotiable and cannot be made conditional," he said as the joint statement had tried to portray Iran's defense capabilities as a "threat".

"Just as the inherent right of legitimate self-defense can never be a subject of talks, its means cannot be a subject of compromise with any party,” he added.

He emphasized that Iran has a greater interest than any other country in preserving regional stability.

"Without a doubt, Iran is more concerned than any other party about the collective security of the region," he wrote.

The Iranian spokesperson warned that if the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council thinks that the way to address this concern lies in turning to the “biggest violator of security,” it is itself contradictory in purpose, “a bitter irony, and a disappointing indication of a failure to learn from recent bitter experiences."

Baghaei also criticized some Persian Gulf states which violated the principle of good neighborliness and fundamental rules of international law by supporting the US-Israeli aggression against Iran.

He questioned the reasons that these countries had allowed their territories to be used for criminal attacks targeting Iran while turning a blind eye to a destructive arms race and the acquisition and accumulation of hundreds of billions of dollars in advanced weaponry with no legitimate defensive purpose.

"Why do they ignore Israel's repeated aggressions against regional countries and the occupation of Palestinian and Lebanese territories? Why do they keep silent vis-à-vis the occupying regime’s nuclear arsenal outside any international monitoring but the conventional defense capability of a country that has repeatedly been threatened and attacked, including from the territory of neighboring states, is portrayed as a threat?" Baghaei asked.

He reiterated that Iran's military capabilities serve both as a deterrent against external acts of aggression and as a contributor to regional stability.

"It should be clear to all that Iran's military capabilities guarantee the Iranian nation's inherent right to legitimate self-defense against aggression and crime, while at the same time contributing to peace and stability in the region,” the spokesman pointed out.

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Earlier on Friday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry fiercely condemned the US-GCC joint statement as "meddlesome, irresponsible, and provocative," warning regional states against continuing their hostile alignment with Washington.

In a statement, the ministry dismissed Washington’s claims of an “enduring US commitment” to the security of Persian Gulf states as nothing more than "rhetoric and an inversion of reality." It emphasized that the US military footprint in the region remains a burden on local populations and a primary driver of insecurity.

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