Iran holds US accountable for ‘deliberate’ attacks on civilians: Baqaei

In response to a question during his weekly press briefing on Monday, Baqaei pointed to US violations of international humanitarian law, stating that the Islamic Republic will always hold the United States accountable for crimes against the Iranian nation.

Saying that US officials are adept at lying about their actions, he said Americans were well aware that one of their war tactics over the past seven or eight decades has been to attack civilian targets.

Baqaei referred to the recent US deadly bombing of a wedding ceremony on Iran’s Sirik Island, saying such brutality was not the first of its kind. Rather, it is a historical pattern. A review of American attacks on civilians over the last six months indicates that the United States has adopted Israel’s model to repeatedly and systematically target civilians.

Emphasizing that the US attacks were not collateral damage, as US media claims, but deliberate acts, Baqaei argued: “If the US  military claims to have access to weapons with millimeter accuracy, how is it possible that it did not recognize the Minab school? How is it possible that it did not recognize that the site of the attack in Lamerd was a stadium? Likewise, the wedding in Sirik.”

“We, as Iranians and as members of the international community, must not allow these crimes to become merely part of history; we must always hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes,” Baqaei added.

Elsewhere, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson addressed regional turmoil, stating that regional security is unlikely as long as the interests of the Islamic Republic are not met. “We will definitely not compromise on our national interests and our vital interests,” he stressed.

He also clarified recent remarks by the US Secretary of State that the understanding between Tehran and Washington had ended, saying that Iran had never initiated the breach of any agreement. He added that the U.S. must answer for its failure to fulfill its obligations.

In response to another question about the EU’s support for U.S. sanctions against Iran, Baqaei said the 27-nation bloc must decide between following American dictates and protecting its own national interests.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the bloc had already chosen the path of keeping the US happy and succumbing to its demands, whether at the level of the UN Security Council or the IAEA Board of Governors, which has resulted in Europe’s role being further marginalized.

Calling the EU’s support for American secondary sanctions a clear violation of international law, he said that if the bloc values its credibility, sovereignty, independence, national interests, and economic interests, it should not comply with the U.S. economic war against Iran./irna