Pezeshkian in Delhi: Iran won’t surrender to oppression

New Delhi: Iran will not surrender to “bullying” and “arrogance” and will stand firm to protect its national interests, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday in a direct message to the US and Israel amid a sudden spike in West Asian hostilities.

In an address at a gathering of religious leaders, intellectuals, academicians and business figures, Pezeshkian outlined Tehran’s vision for the Gulf region, emphasising a commitment to peaceful coexistence while vowing to defeat foreign forces seeking to “sow the seeds of discord” within Iranian society.

“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,” the Iranian president said.

He labelled the US and Israeli forces as “real militants”, pointing to a US strike near a primary school in southern Iran that left 168 children dead.

“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.

Pezeshkian’s remarks came amid escalating tensions in West Asia in view of fresh US airstrikes on Iranian targets as well as Washington’s attempts to inflict economic strain on Tehran through crippling sanctions.

The Iranian president said the United States and Israel are making “errors like someone riding a wild horse without reining it in”.

“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,” the Iranian leader said.

The event was attended among others by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Kashmiri separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Patanjali Ayurved co-founder and managing director Acharya Balkrishna and ORF Director General Sujan R Chinoy.

Pezeshkian arrived in New Delhi on Friday morning on a three-day visit primarily to attend the BRICS summit.

Ahead of the event, the Iranian president held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that mainly focused on the overall situation in West Asia as well as bilateral ties.

The Iranian president said he had “nice talks” with Modi that will pave the way for cooperation and development of relations in trade, technology and culture.

With its vast reserves and strategic location, Iran is ready to play the role of a strategic partner in supplying energy and food in the region, he said.

Earlier, speaking at the BRICS Business Forum, Pezeshkian called for a stronger shift towards local currencies in BRICS trade, while pitching Iran’s geography, energy resources and transport links as a strategic bridge for the bloc’s economic connectivity.

The BRICS must move beyond its economic potential and build a more integrated network of trade, investment and joint financing, he said.

Separately, speaking to reporters, Araghchi said Iran considers India as a “great emerging country”, which is helming the BRICS as its current chair.

“The BRICS is a very important institution and is playing a very important role. I am sure that India is able to lead the BRICS and the countries that are members of this group in an excellent way,” he said.

“Inside the BRICS, there are different opinions, but all members of the group believe that national currencies should be strengthened and trade between the member states should be conducted through national currencies,” he said.

Araghchi said having a single currency for trade among the BRICS nations is still under consideration.