Majid Tafreshi called for respect for the UN Charter and criticized the interruption of diplomatic negotiations in favor of war.
The Iranian ambassador in Lisbon this Saturday condemned the US and Israeli military attacks on Iran as “a disaster for Humanity, for the UN Charter, for the EU and for North American democracy”.
In a telephone interview with the Lusa agency, Majid Tafreshi stressed that the power currently in the hands of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, “is not an inheritance from his family [política]”, but rather the end of 300 years of civilized nation, “when it saved peace and security and did not violate it”.
The Iranian diplomat indicated that Iran’s leaders are all alive, despite much confusion, arguing that public demonstrations of jubilation in the country “demonstrate the feeling of the Nation, with the protection of its sovereignty”.
“Democracy and freedom come from people, not from imperialist wars. It is very important. It is the Iranians who have to define the future of Iran, not Washington, not Tel Aviv. This is very important, but I, unfortunately, am receiving a very bad signal from some European countries”, he lamented.
According to Tafreshi, Iran is defending itself and is not attacking civilians in retaliation for US and Israeli military attacks, as happened at a school in the south of the country, where according to Iranian authorities,
“Iran is only in a defensive position. We never declared any war. We were, once again, at the negotiating table. The head of diplomacy in Oman said he had every indication that the problems would be resolved. But suddenly, again, the Zionist lobby comes into action [Israel e Estados Unidos]”, highlighted Tafreshi.
Asked about the reasons for a sudden change and for using the same argument used to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime — in Iraq’s case, weapons of mass destruction and in Iran’s case, the nuclear bomb — Tafreshi admitted similarities.
“Of course, it is a story that has already happened in the past. And now, Iran is a pretext, of course. Maybe the Americans followed this scenario, but everyone knows that Iran, based on its own strategy, does not have weapons of mass destruction. We adhered to the Middle East Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 25 years ago, which we consider as one of the pillars of this resolution, we are together in this with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)”, he replied.
“For almost 40 years they have been saying that Iran will have access to an atomic bomb. Every day they said: ‘In the next two months the [Irão] will have an atomic bomb’. Where is that atomic bomb, really? It’s all propaganda. It will not be the first time nor the last that Iran suffers from abuses of power and illegal use of force”, he stressed.
Asked by Lusa whether it has faith in the power of the United Nations to resolve differences, the Iranian diplomat argued that he has no other option.
“We have no choice. We are not living in a jungle. We need humanity. We have to protect it, as that is what was left from the great world wars. If everyone judges others by their own interests, we will definitely not have a safe reward”, he added.
Tafreshi said that Russia and China have asked for an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council, although he stresses that there will be little hope if the United Nations body does not become more involved”once again attacking the North American method of, one day, breaking off negotiations and, the next day, moving on to a military attack.
“I don’t know how to explain it. How can a person with an open mind explain it? Are they lying? This is democracy. Negotiation is democracy. The worst dialogue is much better than the best of wars. We need to protect humanity. Shouldn’t our children, our families, our friends be killed for wrong decisions? But then, everyone must protect, as António Costa and many others remembered, the Charter of the United Nations”, he said.
“It takes logic. Why attack? Why are innocent people being killed? Why are we attacking a country that used and spent all its talent for negotiation and everyone was happy? Why doesn’t even Oman be respected as a mediator? Oman’s MNE said that peace was in our hands, but the Americans chose war. So, why are they killing? Why are they wasting other people’s time? If you want peace you have to get involved. But no, they [EUA e Israel] they are lying and harassing peaceful negotiations which leads to a bloody war”, he concluded.
