New York [US], September 23 (ANI): Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Tuesday (local time) responded to US President Donald Trump's remarks during his address at the UNGA, where he warned that he would “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a peace deal is not reached.
Baghaei, in an interview with IRNA after the end of the first day of the high-level diplomatic week, criticised the US President's repeated claims and accusations against Iran.
“One of these nuances was the US President's speech. The nuances are because the remarks made by the US President regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran were repetitive claims and accusations, and here too, the real impression that diplomats and delegations from many countries had was that these remarks were not from authority, but from desperation," he said.
Baghaei further criticised the use of the UN General Assembly as a platform for threats of military action.
“The fact that you are turning the United Nations General Assembly, the largest international assembly, into a stage for making statements that are absolutely illegal, contrary to international law and diplomatic custom, is not a sign of authority," he said.
“To threaten a country with a military attack, all of this is an admission of the nature of the current US ruling body and an admission of committing international crimes," the spokesperson added, referring to Trump's threat against Iran.
Baghaei also explained why the Iranian delegation did not completely leave the General Assembly session during Trump's remarks.
He said the Iranian delegation participated at the level of the Foreign Minister, while one diplomat from Iran's UN mission remained in the hall to follow the proceedings.
“There have been discussions about why the Iranian delegation has not completely left the meeting. For diplomats, Iran's seat is sacred," he said.
“Iran's seat in a place like the UN General Assembly is our stronghold, and certainly if we were to leave this stronghold because of the harshness and harshness and bad words of others, we would have definitely not fulfilled our duty,” Baghaei added.
He said maintaining Iran's presence at the UN was part of the diplomatic responsibility of the delegation.
Speaking about the three hour long meeting with US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said that Tehran's interaction with the United States on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) took place through a Qatari mediator.
The spokesperson said the indirect interaction was aimed at conveying Iran's conditions to the US side, including an end to the war, a halt to US aggressive actions on the Islamic Republic, the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and economic war, as well as the release of Iranian assets.
"The interaction with the American side was through a Qatari mediator," Baghaei told IRNA.
"This interaction was carried out with the aim of conveying Iran's conditions, including ending the war in all spheres, stopping America's aggressive actions, the naval blockade and economic war, the release of Iran's assets, etc," he added.
Earlier, n a post on X, Witkoff said, “Today, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, we engaged in lengthy talks with the Iranian delegation through the mediators, who shuttled between the two sides throughout the day. They successfully completed a round of discussions that we hope will prove constructive and promising. The mediators will continue their work.”
Iranian state media also confirmed that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Witkoff, who was part of the US delegation in New York.
According to IRIB, the meeting took place at Witkoff's request.
The report cited by Al Jazeera said Araghchi accepted the request to reiterate Iran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including the immediate lifting of the naval blockade, the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon.
US President Donald Trump also confirmed that Witkoff and Jared Kushner were part of the US team involved in the discussions through mediators. Trump said the meeting lasted three hours and described it as a “very good meeting”.
"The meeting went very well. It ended an hour ago. It was a meeting that lasted for three hours. It was a very good meeting," Trump told reporters during his bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The diplomatic exchanges in New York come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, with the Strait of Hormuz, regional security in West Asia, sanctions, Iranian assets and the continuation of the conflict featuring prominently in the conditions Tehran says it has conveyed through the mediators. (ANI)
Iran calls Trump's annihilation threat “admission of committing international crimes”
