SAEDNEWS: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said during a phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that Tehran harbors no hostility toward the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, while both sides discussed regional developments following the US-Israeli military aggression.
Araqchi and his Chinese counterpart held a telephone conversation on Monday afternoon, during which, Wang Yi conveyed condolences on behalf of the Chinese government and people over the martyrdom of Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, during the US and Israeli military aggression against Iran.
In response, Araqchi expressed appreciation for the message of sympathy and briefed his Chinese counterpart on developments in Iran and the broader region following the military aggression against Iran.
Addressing the conflict, the Iranian foreign minister stated that the United States and the Zionist regime had violated all norms and principles of international humanitarian laws and principles in their military attack on Iran and had so far caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent Iranian citizens.
He stressed the determination of Iran’s armed forces to defend the country’s national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the security of its citizens with strength.
Turning to civilian casualties, Araqchi pointed to the killing of Iranian children and girls, including 168 young girls at an elementary school in the city of Minab, as well as attacks on hospitals, and underscored the responsibility of the international community to firmly condemn the US and Israeli military aggression and the killing of Iranian civilians.
On regional relations, the Iranian foreign minister emphasized that “Iran has no hostility with the countries of the Persian Gulf region and is determined to continue relations based on good neighborliness with them.”
He further noted, “Iran’s defensive response to US military bases in some Persian Gulf countries should not be interpreted as an attack on those countries, but rather as our legitimate response to the source and origin of the aggression.”
For his part, Wang Yi voiced support for Iran’s defense of its sovereignty, independence, and dignity, and reiterated condemnation of illegal aggression by the United States and Israel.
The two sides also consulted on consular cooperation during the wartime period.
