Araghchi: Iran Won on Battlefield and Diplomatic Front

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran achieved victory both on the battlefield and diplomatically during the recent US-Israeli aggression and 12-day war, stressing that Iranian resistance ultimately forced the adversary to seek negotiations. Speaking at a ceremony to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between diplomacy and the health sector to rebuild infrastructure damaged during the war, Araghchi said the conflict, like the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, witnessed unprecedented courage and sacrifice by Iranians across all sectors.

Araghchi said Iranian men and women ensured that livelihoods and access to essential health, hygiene and medical services remained uninterrupted despite the aggression. He said Iran had demonstrated its ability to withstand what he described as the world’s largest conventional military force. “Iran rendered the world’s largest conventional army incapable and defeated it. This is not a slogan; it is a reality,” he said, adding that Iran had shown itself to be a resilient and formidable power.

The foreign minister said foreign officials had expressed surprise at Iran’s ability to resist the United States, Israel and their Western supporters. He noted that the same side that demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” at the beginning of the war was seeking negotiations less than three weeks later. Araghchi said Iran also demonstrated during the diplomatic process that it could effectively defend its national interests through negotiations as well as resistance.