Iran Refutes EU’s Allegations


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the accusations made at the end of a European Council summit against Iran as erroneous and misleading.

Rejecting the allegations that Iran is selling ballistic missiles to Russia, Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement on Friday, “As previously asserted, the Islamic Republic of Iran has opposed the war from the beginning and stressed the need to respect the countries’ territorial integrity and national sovereignty.”

He reiterated Iran's call for a diplomatic solution to resolve the disputes between Russia and Ukraine.

Baqaei also underlined Iran's legitimate right to engage in defense and military cooperation with other countries based on international law to meet and strengthen its defense needs, slamming the European Council's interference in this matter as unacceptable.

He strongly criticized certain European governments for providing military support for the Zionist regime, especially as Israel uses those weapons to commit genocide, war crimes and gross violations of humanitarian rights, emphasizing that the governments bear international responsibility for their 'complicity' and 'assistance' in committing the heinous crimes, the ministry’s website reported.

The spokesperson highlighted the legitimacy of the armed struggles of nations under colonial, occupation or apartheid regimes to achieve the right to self-determination, as per international law.

Iran's support for the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon against occupation and apartheid is consistent with international legal standards, he added, urging the European Council not to sacrifice the established international legal principles and norms in favor of their unlawful and immoral support for the occupying entity.

Baqaei also expressed regret over the European Council's misrepresentation of Iran's missile operation against the Israeli regime, which was a defensive and legitimate move in response to Israel's aggression against Iran's national sovereignty and territorial integrity and its attacks on Iranian citizens and targets.

He stressed that Operation True Promise II, like True Promise I, was carried out in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter and was a responsible and logical action to safeguard regional peace and security.