Baghaei: Strike Against Iran Was A Betrayal of Diplomacy

FM Spokesman: Attack During Talks Was a Betrayal of Diplomacy

Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei condemned the recent US-Israeli military strike as a betrayal of diplomacy arguing it unlawfully targeted a nation actively engaged in a peaceful negotiation process.

On a panel titled "Diplomacy Betrayed: The Case of US-Israeli Aggression against Iran," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei argued that the recent military strike against Iran was a fundamental assault not just on a sovereign state, but on the very principle of peaceful negotiation in international relations.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei laid out the facts from Tehran's perspective, stating that the "egregious act of aggression by Israel" took place just two days before a planned sixth round of negotiations. "We were attacked while we were negotiating in good faith," Baghaei emphasized. He noted that while Iran had seen clues that the United States might not be serious in the talks, it had remained professionally committed to pursuing a peaceful resolution as instructed by its leadership and people.

The spokesman described the attack as a violation of two fundamental tenets of contemporary international law: the prohibition on the use of force and the obligation of states to settle disputes by peaceful means. By launching an unprovoked attack, he argued, the aggressors "betrayed both principles."

Furthermore, Baghaei sharply criticized the justifications offered for the military action as legally baseless. He dismissed the invocation of "preemptive self-defense" as something that "has no place under international law." Similarly, he described the American rationale of intervening in "collective self-defense" of the Israeli regime as an unlawful manipulation of the UN Charter.

A central theme of Baghaei's remarks was that this case set a uniquely dangerous precedent for the global community. He argued that this instance was different from other unlawful uses of force because it directly targeted a diplomatic process, sending a message that "you can no more trust any negotiating process."

In conclusion, the spokesman warned that this "blatant act of lawlessness" was not an isolated incident but part of a "very dangerous trend that is eroding the whole fabric of international law and the UN system." He stated that the act established a pattern of behavior that could be replicated against other nations, undermining the stability that has underpinned the international order for the past eight decades.