Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has strongly condemned the Israeli aggression towards Iran and criticised the Western world’s “double standard”, saying that the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) performance was “tainted with hypocrisy and a selective approach”.
Asif earlier stressed that Pakistan stood in “complete solidarity” with Iran amid Israel’s unprovoked and “unjustified aggression” against Tehran, which began on June 13 and escalated over 12 days. The conflict intensified after the US intervened by striking three of Iran’s nuclear sites. Tehran first responded by launching missiles at Tel Aviv, then targeted US bases in Qatar following the American strikes. On Tuesday morning, US President Donald Trump announced that Iran and Israel had reached a “ceasefire”.
Israel, without evidence, claimed that its initial strike on Iran was “preventive”, meant to address an immediate, inevitable threat from the Islamic Republic’s part to construct a nuclear bomb. Tel Aviv also suggested that the IAEA report released on June 12, which condemned Iran for material violations of its Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) commitments until the early 2000s, constituted such an emergency. However, the IAEA also seemed to reject that claim, since there was nothing in the report that was not already known to the relevant parties, according to Al Jazeera.
In an interview with an Iranian state-run news agency IRNA in Islamabad, Asif said, “Unlike Iran, the Westerners have destroyed the opportunity for diplomacy and are the cause of the beginning of the aggressions of the Zionist regime and the United States.”
The defence minister emphasised that Iran’s approach had been “very constructive’ and Tehran never sought confrontation, adding that Israel wanted to “overshadow the region to push the situation towards war”.
He added that “a regime that is not even a member of the NPT and there is no monitoring and inspection of its nuclear arsenals, can do anything and has the authorisation to carry out any aggression and attack on Palestine, Gaza, Yemen and now against Iran.”
“All these countries are the targets of these deliberate and reckless actions of Tel Aviv, which is not held accountable by the IAEA,” Asif further said.
He condemned Israel’s “terrorist attacks and the US aggressive crime against Iran’s nuclear facilities”, considering these actions contrary to international law, the UN Charter and humanitarian norms.
“I think the situation has escalated to a dangerous level, especially over the past few weeks when Iran continuously emphasised the need for negotiations and participation in this entire process, and that the Iranians have never left the negotiating table,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
“Iran has never initiated the war, but both the destruction of diplomacy and the initiation of the war were carried out by the other side (America and Israel), which led to the illegitimate aggression of Israel against the nation,” he added.
Asif further said, “It is ridiculous that the West always wants Iran to return to the negotiating table, because the Iranians did not leave the negotiating table, but have always demanded interaction and negotiations.”
He noted that even when Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was negotiating with the Europeans, another aggression against the country took place.
Asif said Israel’s “continued aggression against Palestinians had now reached Iran”, calling it a “conspiracy planned and implemented by the Zionist regime”.
“Iranians stand with Palestine, and this is never a crime. Human dignity and the defence of religious values must be followed by the international community, and they must stand against Israeli aggression and rush to help the Palestinians,” he reaffirmed.
He added that the US and Israel were trampling on all international laws, human values and traditions, and “massacring children, women, old and young in Gaza”.
The defence minister told the people of Iran to stand firm and steadfast because “God is with them and all nations in the world feel the pain of the Iranian nation because this is a crime and a clear aggression against Iran, and these crimes will definitely be responded to.”
