Iran rejects talks, says the fire US, Israel ignited ‘will engulf the entire world’
Iran’s foreign ministry has warned of a wider escalation of the conflict it is embroiled in with Israel and the United States if countries choose to stay passive.
“They must stop the war,” Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson of the ministry, said of Israel and the US, noting that Iran favoured diplomacy from the start.
The US and Israel launched missile strikes on Iran on Saturday.
The strikes came hours after Iran and the US finished rounds of talks aimed at striking a deal on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme.
Though both countries were short of making a pact, both sides described the negotiations as progressive. Israel has described the strike as “pre-emptive”.
Israel Katz, Israeli defence minister said Saturday’s strike was part of a move to “remove threats against the State of Israel”.
“The international community must decide to fulfill its responsibility before it is too late,” Baghaei said, according to a Tuesday report by Al Jazeera.
“The process that has begun will soon engulf Europe. The fire, that the US and the Zionist regime ignited, will engulf the entire world.
“All of Europe’s approaches are contradictory. Any violation of the law and any breach of moral principles and the UN Charter will have consequences that affect every single human being on Earth.
“If European countries understand this, they will certainly move out of their state of indifference.”
On Monday, US President Donald Trump said he was ready to negotiate a revised deal with Iran’s new leaders.
But Baghaei said the government is now focused on “defence”.
“Eternal disgrace will remain upon those who claimed to pursue diplomacy but, in the face of Iran’s logic, bowed down and turned to the military option,” Baghaei said.
He added that Iran’s decision to attack energy infrastructure in neighbouring countries reflected Tehran’s commitment to “humanitarian principles”.
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