President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran says the United States and Europe had better stop approaches based on confrontation and engage in diplomacy to find a “balanced and fair” solution to Tehran’s nuclear issue.
Pezeshkian made the remarks in an address to the Shanghai Plus Summit in China's port city of Tianjin on Monday, which was held after the 25th Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State.
Pointing to the acts of aggression by Israel and the United States against Iran in June, at a time that Washington was “hypocritically” engaging in negotiations with Tehran, he said the attack proved the military option was ineffective, and will be met with the heroic resistance of the Iranian people.
The president warned that Europe’s move to invoke the so-called snapback mechanism of sanctions on Iran “will only complicate the situation more and lead to further tensions.”
He called on the SCO and independent countries in the world to play an effective and responsible role in the face of unjust measures.
Pezeshkian once again reaffirmed the Islamic Republic’s constant readiness to find a diplomatic and peaceful solution to issues regarding its nuclear energy program.
Elsewhere in his address, the Iranian president urged the SCO, as one of the most important independent and justice-seeking bodies in the world, to take a more organized initiative that promotes global peace.
Pezeshkian placed a premium on the urgent need for the SCO to devise a comprehensive plan to address the longstanding conflicts in the West Asia region, particularly the massacre and starvation of innocent people in Gaza.
He cautioned that no plan for global peace and justice can succeed in the world without a just resolution to the Palestinian issue.
“Our solution has always been based on the participation of all original inhabitants of Palestine in a free election to realize the right to self-determination as the most fundamental principle of international law,” he said.
Pezeshkian noted that since the end of the Cold War, unilateral moves have hindered humanity's aspirations for lasting peace in the world.
However, he added, the establishment of the SCO has kept hopes alive for collaborative efforts among nations with cultural-civilizational diversity and different political, economic, and military situations.
“The experience of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has shown that cooperation, especially among developing countries and emerging economies, can provide a practical response to global challenges, including economic inequalities, the pressures of sanctions, climate change, and transnational security crises,” the president said.