Baqaei: US seeks to blame Iran for insecurity caused by its own aggression

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has condemned Washington’s call for the international community to denounce Iran over insecurity in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, saying the United States cannot evade responsibility for its own actions by portraying the victim as the aggressor. In a message posted on X, Baqaei said the United States had attacked Iran twice in less than nine months while negotiations were underway, accusing Washington and its allies of inflicting civilian casualties, assassinating Iranian leaders and intensifying economic sanctions against the Iranian people. “They attacked Iran twice in less than nine months – while negotiations were underway,” Baqaei wrote, referring to the deaths of children in Minab and girls in Lamerd, the assassination of Iranian leaders, and mounting economic pressure on the country. He also accused Washington of violating the understanding it had signed with Iran on June 17, saying that, despite these actions, the United States was now calling on the world to condemn Tehran. Baqaei argued that the consequences of what he described as unlawful aggression extended far beyond the region, contributing to regional instability and global economic insecurity. “The world is paying the price of your unlawful aggression through regional instability and global economic insecurity,” he wrote. Rejecting Washington’s attempt to shift responsibility onto Iran, the spokesman said those responsible for initiating a conflict could not subsequently present themselves as victims while demanding international condemnation of the other side. “You cannot launch a war of choice, set the region ablaze, unleash global chaos, and then play the victim,” he said. “You cannot evade responsibility by turning the aggressor into the accuser and the victim into the culprit.” The Iranian spokesman maintained that accountability for regional instability and its wider economic and energy consequences must be addressed without reversing the roles of those responsible for aggression and those subjected to it.