- Defense Czar terms the International Atomic Energy Agency’s performance ‘tainted with hypocrisy and a selective approach’
- Describes Iran’s approach as ‘very constructive,’ saying Tehran never sought confrontation
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday strongly condemned the Israeli aggression towards Iran and criticized the Western world’s “double standard,” saying that the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) performance was “tainted with hypocrisy and a selective approach.”
“Unlike Iran, the West has destroyed the opportunity for diplomacy and is the cause of the beginning of the aggressions of the Zionist regime and the United States,” Defense Czar Kh Asif stated in an interview with an Iranian state-run news agency, IRNA, in Islamabad.
He described Iran’s approach as “very constructive,” saying Tehran never sought confrontation. “Israel wanted to overshadow the region to push the situation towards war,” he added.
He added that “a regime that is not even a member of the NPT and there is no monitoring and inspection of its nuclear arsenals can do anything and has the authorization to carry out any aggression and attack on Palestine, Gaza, Yemen and now against Iran.”
“All these countries are the targets of these deliberate and reckless actions of Tel Aviv, which is not held accountable by the IAEA,” Asif further said.
He condemned Israel’s “terrorist attacks and the US aggressive crime against Iran’s nuclear facilities”, considering these actions contrary to international law, the UN Charter, and humanitarian norms.
“I think the situation has escalated to a dangerous level, especially over the past few weeks when Iran continuously emphasised the need for negotiations and participation in this entire process, and that the Iranians have never left the negotiating table,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
“Iran has never initiated the war, but both the destruction of diplomacy and the initiation of the war were carried out by the other side (America and Israel), which led to the illegitimate aggression of Israel against the nation,” he added.
Asif further said, “It is ridiculous that the West always wants Iran to return to the negotiating table, because the Iranians did not leave the negotiating table, but have always demanded interaction and negotiations.”
He noted that even when Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was negotiating with the Europeans, another aggression against the country took place.
Asif said Israel’s “continued aggression against Palestinians had now reached Iran,” calling it a “conspiracy planned and implemented by the Zionist regime.”
“Iranians stand with Palestine, and this is never a crime. Human dignity and the defence of religious values must be followed by the international community, and they must stand against Israeli aggression and rush to help the Palestinians,” he reaffirmed.
He added that the US and Israel were trampling on all international laws, human values, and traditions and “massacring children, women, old and young in Gaza.”
The defence minister told the people of Iran to stand firm and steadfast because “God is with them and all nations in the world feel the pain of the Iranian nation because this is a crime and a clear aggression against Iran, and these crimes will definitely be responded to.”
