Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said today, in an interview with the North American network NBC News, that China and Russia “are supporting Iran politically and in other ways”, without specifying how.
“I’m not going to give details about our cooperation with other countries, exactly in the middle of a war,” said the head of Iranian diplomacy, adding that military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran “was never a secret.” Araghchi also avoided mentioning Beijing, despite questions from the NBC journalist.
Araghchi stated that Iran did not make the decision to start a war with its neighbors. “We didn’t attack our neighbors. We didn’t attack Muslim countries,” he said. “We attacked American targets and American bases, American installations, which unfortunately are located in the territory of our neighbors,” he added
The head of diplomacy also said that he spoke with counterparts from these countries to explain that they are not the target, explaining that the attacks on civilian targets such as residential areas in Bahrain, hotels in Dubai, and the international airport in Kuwait had been “collateral damage”.
Abbas Araghchi also said that Iran has not closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil transits, although last Monday, a high-ranking member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Brigadier General Ebrahim Jabbari, said that the strait was closed and that any ships that tried to pass would be considered targets.
“They didn’t close. It’s the ships and oil tankers that don’t risk crossing because they’re afraid they could be hit by either side,” said the minister.
“Therefore, we have no intention of ending it at this time, but as the war continues, we will consider all scenarios,” he added, however.
Lusa
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