Iran is witnessing a “betrayal of diplomacy” by the Trump administration, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson told CNN Sunday.
“They cannot talk about diplomacy, they betrayed diplomacy,” Esmail Baghaei said about the Trump administration. He said, however, that “diplomacy never ends.”
The diplomat refused to say how Iran might respond to the military strikes by the US on its nuclear sites early Sunday, nor what had been damaged, but said Tehran “is entitled … to exercise its right of self-defense.”
He added: “And we will do that for sure.”
Baghaei said President Donald Trump’s recent statements and threats of more attacks were “bullying at a global level.”
He warned that the attacks by Israel and the US leave the region in an “unprecedently dangerous” position.
The spokesperson said Iran had been “absolutely restrained” in its response to Israel and had targeted only military and security targets. Israel, for its part, has said Iran has attacked civilian targets in its cities.
Israeli officials, such as Defense Minister Israel Katz, have said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “cannot continue to exist” – a statement Baghaei called “despicable” and “outrageous.”
Baghaei, who served in the Iranian United Nations mission in New York between 2006 and 2010, said Iran had been trying its “best for diplomacy and peace.”
“History will not forgive what is being done by the US administration,” he said.
