Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian sent a strong message to both the United States and Israel in a speech he made in New Delhi on Friday, September 11, saying his nation would not surrender to “bullying” and “arrogance” and would do everything to protect its national interests.
“We will not surrender to oppression. Iran is standing up to Israel and the US because we will not be bullied, and if they push us, we will push them back,” said Pezeshkian in his address at a gathering of religious leaders, business figures and intellectuals. He is in New Delhi to attend the 18th BRICS summit.
With tensions continuing to rise in West Asia due to the fresh US airstrikes on Iranian targets and the USA’s efforts to corner Iran economically through sanctions, Pezeshkian’s remarks are seen as Iran’s resolve to foil US President Donald Trump’s plans to claim a convincing victory in the ongoing conflict.
US President Donald Trump said the same day that he has no regrets about starting the Iran war. “If I had it to do again, I would do exactly what I did,” said Trump.
Pezeshkian described the roles of the US and Israel in West Asian hostilities as the two countries committing “errors like someone riding a wild horse without reining it in”. He said, “That will lead them to doom and the fires of hell. God created Iranians, Chinese, Indians and others, and we have to live with each other. We will not surrender to oppression; we will keep supporting the oppressed”.
“We will not surrender to oppression. Iran is standing up to Israel and the US because we will not be bullied, and if they push us, we will push them back,” said Pezeshkian, who arrived in New Delhi on September 11 morning on a three-day visit mainly to attend the BRICS summit.
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“They should take on our soldiers instead of targeting hospitals, infrastructure and livelihoods. They think people will surrender because of the lack of supplies but the people of Iran will not surrender,” he said, terming the US and Israeli forces as “real militants”.
Pezeshkian also held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the BRICS summit. Their discussions were mainly on the overall situation in West Asia and bilateral ties. He described his conversation with Modi as “nice talks” and hoped the way for cooperation between Iran and India in trade, technology and culture would widen.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the idea of a single currency for trade among the BRICS nations is under consideration. Pezeshkian, speaking at the BRICS Business Forum earlier in the day, also called for efforts to ensure a shift towards local currencies in BRICS trade.
