Iran remains steadfast in its ‘principled positions,’ says Foreign Ministry

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to its "principled positions," emphasizing that the country does not shift its policies on a daily basis.

“We are steadfast in our principled positions and do not shift from one policy to another every day. The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported the resistance while honestly confronting illegal behavior and terrorism,” Baghaei wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.

He also underscored Iran’s frontline role in the fight against terrorism. “We were the first country to raise the banner of the fight against Daesh (Takfiri terrorist group) and violent extremism with the hands of our national hero, Martyr ( anti-terror commander General Qassem) Soleimani, and we defeated them in the region.”

Baghaei also underlined Iran’s longstanding opposition to extremism and its efforts to stabilize neighboring countries.

He pointed to Tehran’s early rejection of the coup attempt against the Turkish government and stated, "We were the first country to oppose and confront the coup against the Turkish government. We were among the first countries to welcome the Kurdistan Workers' Party’s (PKK)  disarmament and considered it an important step toward strengthening security in our neighboring country, Turkey.

Iran: PKK leader’s call on group to drop weapons, disband ‘important step’ to curb violence

Iran says the PKK leader’s call to drop weapons and disband is an important step to curb violence.

His comments came a day after jailed PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan called on the militant group to lay down arms, seeking an end to the decades-long conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

In his X post, Baghaei also warned against ignoring “the overt and covert hands of the US and Israel in regional developments,” asserting that their influence has fueled instability.

He also quoted Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan as saying, “The region must be freed from the culture of one country dominating others; neither Arabs, nor Turks, nor Kurds, nor Iranians should seek to dominate, harass, or threaten one another.”

Baghaei responded to Fidan’s remarks with a question, “But what about Israel?”

He accused the Israeli regime of escalating aggression in Syria following the fall of Damascus on December 8, 2024, when Turkish-backed forces seized control of the capital.

Baghaei stated that within days of Damascus’ fall, the Israeli regime launched a massive attack on Syria’s military and defense infrastructure, including its scientific and research centers, destroying more than 90 percent of them.

He further noted that the Israeli regime has reoccupied the entire Golan Heights and seized “large" and strategic parts of Syrian territory, expanding its "expansionist agenda."

In December 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu justified his visit to Mount Hermon in Syria as an “assessment of the Israeli military’s activities” on the Arab country's highest mountain range.

However, Netanyahu’s December visit to Mount Hermon was described by political analysts as part of the regime’s “Greater Israel project” rather than a simple military assessment.

Occupation of Syria’s highest peak Mount Hermon part of ‘Greater Israel’ project

After the fall of Assad government in Syria, Israel swiftly launched fresh aggression against the country and seized more land beyond the occupied Golan Heights, including the strategic Mount Hermon.

Baghaei also warned that “the Israeli regime now controls Syria’s most important water sources and repeatedly violates the country’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty.”

He emphasized that Tehran “has not pursued any regional ambitions in the past five decades.” Instead, he stated that Iran’s primary concern remains supporting the Palestinian people and their cause in fight against Israeli occupation.

“The issue of Palestine is more alive than ever, and Israel is more hated than ever,” he asserted, adding that plans for forced displacement in Gaza and the annexation of the occupied West Bank would not be possible without “stabs in the back.”

His comments were in reaction to recent statements by the US President Donald Trump, who referenced the “forced displacement” of Palestinians from Gaza and the takeover of the strip.

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