Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday (Mar 7) said that his country will not surrender to the United States and Israel stating that Iran’s surrender a dream enemies must take to the grave.
He made the remarks following the US President’s latest warning that there will be “no deal” with Tehran unless it agrees to an “unconditional surrender”.
In a pre-recorded video message broadcast on state TV, Pezeshkian also apologised to Iran’s neighbours, saying that Tehran will not target them unless attacked by them.
Iran’s enemies “must take their wish for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves,” Pezeshkian said.
In his speech, he said, “I salute the dear people of our country. I once again offer my condolences for the martyrdom of the Exalted Leadership, the great commanders of our country, and the oppressed and innocent students. Those who claim to support human rights, freedom, and humanity have martyred these innocents through bombings; they continue this trend, unfortunately, without any regard for international laws, bombing wherever they wish, not sparing schools, hospitals, and various centers in the country.”
He said, “I must thank the honorable people of our country. Despite all these hardships, you are present on the scene every night. For anyone who is Iranian, anyone who lives in Iran, regardless of their religion, status, or appearance, your presence in defense of Iran’s territorial integrity makes our enemies despair of what they have in mind; we are grateful to these honorable people.”
“All those differences, worries, and grievances that we have with one another, it is my belief and conviction that today, all of these must be set aside. Everyone must join hands and defend our water, soil, and land with power. We stand until the end to pull our Iran out of this crisis with pride,” said the president.
"As for their dream of our “unconditional surrender”, they must take such a dream with them to the grave. What we are committed to are international laws, human frameworks, and those principles they claim to uphold. They must also be committed to them; they have no right to ignore the rights of all countries and, naturally, our Iran.
I find it necessary here to apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran. Because of this trend and the situation that occurred, our commanders, our leader, and our loved ones actually lost their lives due to the savage aggression that took place. Our armed forces and heroes, who have their lives in their hands to defend the territorial integrity, acted with “fire at will” when the commanders were gone and did what was necessary, defending our land with honor and power." he said.
Pezeshkian said, "We have no intention of aggression against neighboring countries; as has been said many times, they are our brothers. We must join hands with these dear ones in the region to establish peace and tranquility. I hope what happened in the decision we took yesterday in the Interim Leadership Council, this decision has been reported to the armed forces, that from now on they should not attack neighboring countries or fire missiles, unless those countries want to attack us. I think we should solve this with diplomacy; fighting with neighboring countries leads to problems."
"Our dear people must know that in the government, all our ministers, all our forces, are working with all their being. As far as we can, we will not fall short. We are the servants of these people; we will try to ensure that no problem arises from our side for our dear people, but the reality is that it is war. We have prepared ourselves for a war and will continue to be prepared.
And I ask the Great God in this holy month to grant us this belief, this faith, and this conviction so that we can defend the integrity of our country, the pride and dignity of our people, with power and honor. Let it be a lesson for future generations that Iranians are together in all scenes where needed," said the Iran president.
"We must be together. I hope neighboring countries, some groups or factions in them are thinking of using this opportunity to attack our soil, I give this message: it is better not to become a plaything of imperialism. We may have differences, we may have grievances with each other, but now, supported by Israel, which is committing genocide, and America, which is bullying, their presence will forever be a mark of indignity and dishonor. I do not know how to say it; becoming a plaything for colonizers and genocidaires is very bad for those who imagine they want to achieve their freedom and dignity. Dignity cannot be obtained alongside foxes, liars, and world-eaters. If we have a difference, it is better to sit down and solve it together, but do not become the plaything of Israel and America," he concluded.
