'This is America’s war': Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi | Talk to Al Jazeera

I'm Ali Hashim in Tehran, where Iran's foreign minister insists this system will hold

despite the ongoing U.S.-Israeli offensive, no matter the cost as the region stands at

the costroads with far-reaching consequences. Stay with us, as Iran's foreign minister

Abbas al-Akchi talks to Al-Jazeem.

Mr. Foreign Minister Abbas al-Akchi, thanks for talking to Al-Jazeem.

Thank you.

The first issue today is the announcement that they've

assassinated Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mr. Ali Larijan.

I do not know why the Americans and the Israelis still have not understood this point.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has a strong political structure with established political,

economic, and social institutions. The presence or absence of a single individual does not

affect this structure. Of course, individuals are influential and each person plays their role.

Some better, some worse, some less. But what matters is that the political system in Iran

is a very solid structure. We have not had anyone more important than the leader himself,

and even the leader was martyred, yet the system continued to work and immediately provided

a replacement. If anyone else is martyred, it will be the same. If the foreign minister were ever

to be martyred, there would ultimately be someone else to take the position.

Anyone could become a target. In recent days, we have seen that they have no hesitation about

targeting any place. So far, 53 hospitals have been attacked, along with many schools.

The Minab school, which has now become well known, where 168 students were killed,

is the most famous example. But there have been others as well.

Bank branches and many residential buildings have also been attacked.

Political figures, civilians, scientists, and university professors have all been targeted.

It is even possible that the foreign minister could be attacked. But like everyone else,

we are standing firm and working for the goals and interests of our country,

and we have no hesitation about giving our lives for it, if necessary.

You are in the middle of a war, and an American is really war on Iran. At the same time,

Iran is in a wider war. It's launching rockets towards Israel, towards American

bases, and also towards neighboring countries.

We did not expand the war. The war is inherently expansive. This is a point we had

already warned our friends in the region about for a very simple reason.

When the United States attacks us, our armed forces, our missiles, and our drones

cannot reach U.S. territory. Therefore, we are inevitably compelled to respond

by striking U.S. military bases in the region and attacking U.S. military assets in the region.

Unfortunately, these assets are spread across the entire region and regrettably

are located on the territory of our friendly countries. This is the nature of this war.

When the United States attacks us, coming from 10,000 miles away to strike here,

it is only natural that we must respond.

All the time, we are hearing the drones, the rockets, and at the end, it's not

the idea that these are clear bases, because in a way or another, there are some areas that are

residential areas, business businesses that are being targeted. Now, in Qatar, they are being

intercepted. In some other places, they're not.

First of all, I am truly surprised that the world does not speak out about the attacks on

Iran's residential areas, the attacks on schools and hospitals. Why does no one talk about these?

But I can say with confidence that we have not attacked civilian targets in neighboring

countries. We have not targeted them. Of course, in some places, there may be collateral

consequences, but that has not been our intention. However, when it comes to striking

what the Americans call their bases, in the region, it is natural that we have not limited

ourselves only to their formal military bases. Wherever there has been a concentration of

Americans, wherever they have had facilities belonging to them, those places have been targeted.

Some of these may have been close to urban areas. This is not our fault. It's the Americans fault.

They evacuated their soldiers from military bases and moved them into hotels inside cities.

Overall, it is the United States' behavior that has brought the region to this point.

I accept that our friendly countries are upset and that the people of the region have been harmed.

That is why Dr. Pezeshkin apologized to the people of the region because, as a result of

US aggression against us and our response and retaliation, they may have been affected,

but all of this is America's fault. We did not start this war. We are only defending ourselves.

There was a lot of controversy around Mr. Pezeshkin's apology, whether this created a

rift in the system and whether the military was anywhere or not reserved towards this apology.

All this commotion was unnecessary. Mr. Pezeshkin spoke very clearly. First of all, in our country,

apologizing is a sign of strength and honor. A person who is more powerful and more honourable

does not hesitate to apologise. The apology he made was addressed to the people of the region

out of respect for the difficult situation they are facing. The United States attacked us

and we are retaliating, yet we still apologise to the people of the region because they have suffered.

There was no internal disagreement within our system. As for why President Pezeshkin's constructive

approach did not succeed, the reason lies with the United States and President Trump himself.

Immediately after Dr. Pezeshkin's statement, the US President posted a tweet describing

the apology as a sign of defeat and declaring that Iran had been defeated using very insulting language.

In reality, Mr. Trump killed this approach from the start. He prevented the emergence of a new

atmosphere and a new perspective between us and the regional countries. Ultimately, everything about

the current situation is the Americans fault. They must answer not only to their own people,

but also to our people, to the people of the region and to history in the future.

This war is not our war, not the war of the American people, nor the war of the region.

It is America's war, a war that the United States itself chose.

It's the war of choice. Yeah, but you're losing friends. Alongside with this war,

you're losing friends because now, for example, in countries like Oman, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain,

Saudi Arabia, which you had a deal with in China, Kuwait, Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, many countries

and the region. Our people are our best friends. First and foremost, we must protect them.

We must not bargain with the lives of our people because of friends who are making mistakes.

Our friends have given the United States military bases over the past 47 years. Over the past 47

years, our friends have built very good relations with the United States, which has been our

enemy. They have provided a wide range of services to the United States and they continue to do so.

Some of our friends have established relations with Israel, which is the greatest enemy of the

Islamic world. Even now, some of our friends are allowing their territory to be used against us.

I do not know whether they officially allow it or not, but their territories are being used.

Centcom openly says that, for example, Hamas short-range missiles are being launched from inside

regional countries. When three American F-15 aircraft in Kuwait are said to have been mistakenly

shot down, no one asks what they were doing in Kuwait. Obviously, they were passing through Kuwait's

airspace on their way towards Iran. For us, protecting the lives of our people is more important than

anything else. We hope our friends understand this and realize that over the past 47 years,

we have been neighbors and friends, but certain actions have ultimately led to the situation we

see today. There is an analysis that Iran was confronting the American war, the American

Israeli war, with turning this into a regional war and also creating a situation of an international

crisis, especially with the closure or at least the situation that is in the Horma Strait, which

is almost a closure. Did we start it? We did not start it. This war was imposed on us,

and we had warned about it in advance. We did not turn this into a regional war simply because

attacks are coming from countries in the region. Their military bases in the region are being

used against us. It is the United States that has turned it into a regional war, not us.

I would like to understand your vision towards the the Strait of Horma's, the closure. You've

been saying that everyone is still allowed to pass, except for the enemies of Iran. Also,

we've heard reports that Iran is putting a condition that there should be transactions in

Iran for ships to pass. Also, we heard in the leaders' statement that also probably Yemen could

enter, and then there are a lot of indications that Babylon Mandap could close. Is Iran trying to

suffocate the international economy? I will repeat, this war is not our war. We did not

start it. The United States started it, and it is responsible for all the consequences of this war,

human and financial, whether for Iran, for the region, or for the entire world. The United

States must be held accountable. From our perspective, this is a waterway located next to Iran.

Naturally, we will not allow our enemies to use this waterway. At the same time, a war is

taking place around it, and naturally, many ships and countries may not want to use this route

due to insecurity. Some countries contact us to discuss safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz,

and we try to provide them with the conditions for such passage. In my view, we need to design new

arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz and the way ships pass through it in the future,

after the war, so that peaceful navigation through this waterway can be permanently maintained

under clear regulations, with consideration for Iran's interests and the interests of the region.

I believe that after the war, the first step should be drafting a new protocol for the

Strait of Hormuz. Naturally, this should be done between the countries that lie on both sides of

the Strait as they are the principal parties in this matter, and it should guarantee that safe

passage through the Strait takes place under specific conditions. Upon whose conditions,

you say special conditions? Conditions that ensure peacefulness. We do not want to witness

another war in the region, and we do not want to see the Strait closed again. There must be

regulations and conditions established that guarantee lasting peace in this region.

Yesterday, we heard President Trump saying that there are possibilities to reach somewhere.

Now, there is nothing solid in what he said, but it's clear that the Americans are in a situation

where they're waiting Iran to make the first step. In my view, the Americans were drawn into

this war by Israel, or more precisely by Netanyahu himself, and I think they themselves do not even

know what their ultimate objective is. Every day, they talk about something different,

once about regime change, once about dividing Iran, once about the collapse of the government,

and once about unconditional surrender. All this was based on a miscalculation, and now they

have realized that because of it, they have found themselves in a difficult situation.

Those who are demanding unconditional surrender from us are now forced to seek help,

even from their own adversaries, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, inviting other countries and

saying, please help. In my opinion, the United States started this war and must also acknowledge

that it made a mistake and put an end to its aggression. We are not seeking a ceasefire because

we do not want this scenario to be repeated again after some time. Rather, we want the water

end completely and permanently. We desire lasting peace throughout the entire region,

encompassing all the countries within it. So if there is a ceasefire that is offered,

and a lot of guarantees that this is not going to be repeated, but the war, for example,

in Lebanon will continue. Will this war stop? I don't think so. First of all, we do not believe in

a ceasefire. We believe in ending the war, and ending the war means exactly that, ending the war

on all fronts. I think this is also in the interest of peace in the region that once and for all

the issue of war in the region is resolved, and that we witness peace throughout the region,

in Lebanon, in Yemen, in Iraq, in Iran, and in other countries of the region. The region should

become a stable region characterized by peace, development, and progress. I believe that peace in

the region must be comprehensive, encompassing all dimensions of peace, and including all countries.

The fact that right now we are in a new era in Iran, in the middle of the war, there is a new leader.

Of course, there will be new policies, new projection of strategies. And also,

we know that the late leader, Abdullah Khaminah had a fatwa with respect to the nuclear weapons.

Does this fatwa continue with the new leadership or the new leader could change it?

Mainly, the nuclear policy of Iran, the nuclear and doctrine of Iran, will it change?

Iran's nuclear doctrine has been a peaceful one, and we have always sought and still seek to

exercise our rights to benefit from peaceful nuclear energy. A fatwa, as you know, depends on the

person who issues it. I am not yet in a position to judge what the new leader's jurisprudential

or political stance on this matter will be. My understanding is that it should not differ greatly

from our previous policies, but we must wait until we become aware of his views.

There have been a lot of questions with respect to the new leader, especially that when he

addressed the world and the Iran mainly, he addressed him through a statement, but no one saw him.

Can you tell us more about his situation? Because there were reports from the Iranian

television that he was injured in the attack. As far as I am aware, there were only superficial

injuries and he is still in full health and has the situation under control.

When and how he will speak to the people, whether through a statement or in person,

is up to him. But the information I have, which I know to be accurate, is that he is in complete

health. Based on this, Mr. Trump is saying that he doesn't know who to talk in Iran.

There's no leadership that he knows of. I am astonished. We have a president, we have a foreign

minister, we have the leader. All the pillars of the system are in their proper place,

and it is perfectly clear who one should be speaking with. Now, let's talk a bit about the

possibility of talks, negotiations, coming down the ladder. There are attempts already going on,

anyone trying to reach out to you.

There are many countries, our friends, that have proposed ideas and expressed readiness to

play a role in achieving peace. We thank all of our friends who are making efforts in this regard.

Our position is the same as what I have stated here, and we have also conveyed it to our friends.

We do not accept a ceasefire. However, if there is an idea for ending the war that meets our

conditions so that the war ends permanently across the entire region, and the damages suffered

by Iran are compensated, we will certainly listen to it.

How accurate is that, given that Iran wants a country with a weight in the war?

In my view, several countries can play this role. China is one of them.

China played a positive and successful role in mediating between Iran and Saudi Arabia,

and I believe that both remain committed to the agreement reached through China's mediation.

China certainly has strong capacities, and alongside it, other countries also have such potential.

I repeat, any idea that meets our demands and fulfills our conditions, we will listen to it.

We've seen seven or seven messages going on, at least through the military, through the foreign

ministry, Mr. LaRijani, a couple of days ago in his statement. Is there a message you have to

present Trump to the American people? Manpayam be Mardam, I'm going to remember that.

I can give a message to the people of the United States. This war is neither the war of the

American people nor the war of Iran. This is Israel's war, designed for Israel's interests.

For those who believe in Israel first. The cost is being paid by the people of Iran,

the people of the region, and the people of the United States. Both the human and financial

costs are being paid by ordinary people, by people standing at gas pumps. This situation must be

prevented. I believe that ending the war depends on the will of the American people to

compel the government to take a wise path.