Tehran: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim about the nature of Iran's nuclear program as an outright fabrication, calling the allegation of an Iranian atomic bomb a lie that has been propagated for three decades.
According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Baqaei responded to a question during his weekly press conference regarding Netanyahu's claim that IRGC Commander Ahmad Vahidi had stated that as long as Israel and the United States possess nuclear weapons, Iran would continue working on them. Baqaei described it as a clear case of lie-fabrication - production to consumption in less than six hours.
Baqaei explained that this was a fake piece of news generated from a Twitter account in India. A few hours later, it appeared on Israeli television networks, and the Zionist prime minister issued a statement based on it. Within five or six hours, they turned a lie into a so-called fact, he added.
This episode is just one example from the broader spectrum of the Zionist regime's claims against the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the imaginary nuclear bomb, Baqaei said. He added that this has been built on the same pattern: a lie that they have force-fed the international community for thirty years, becoming the very basis for the Zionist regime's aggression against Iran.
Regarding the attack on the commercial vessel and the Ukrainian president's admission about the intentional nature of the attack, Baqaei said Iran is not convinced by Ukraine's claim that this action was unintentional. He emphasized that if Ukraine does not compensate for its aggression against the Iranian ship, Iran will do it themselves.
Reacting to the US president's claim about back-channel negotiations with Iran and his comparison of the talks to a chess game, Baqaei stated that Iranians are well-known chess players, whether overt or covert.
Commenting on reports of declining US missile stockpiles and whether it alters US calculations for continuing attacks, Baqaei said that Iran gives no credibility to any report about the US' capability, positive or negative.
Elaborating on Iran-Oman talks, Baqaei mentioned that in every negotiation Iran has with Oman or other regional countries, the country discusses the necessity of cooperation and trust-building among regional states to achieve an endogenous security mechanism.
Diplomacy is part of Iran's struggle to protect national interests, but the opposing side insists on using force, Baqaei noted. A naval blockade is not a diplomatic action for Iran to resolve through diplomacy, he stressed.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier pointed out that the current focus of talks with Oman is on reaching an understanding regarding a safe shipping route, separate from the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Baqaei said. The Strait of Hormuz has become insecure for other reasons, and resolving this situation requires compensation for all violations that the US is committing, such as the naval blockade, he added.
Regarding recent statements by the Israeli prime minister about Iran, Lebanon, and the continuation of crimes in Gaza, Baqaei said the fact that the Israeli prime minister has said he does not accept any previous commitments under the 15-point Gaza plan is something the US president must answer for. In Sharm El-Sheikh, they proudly announced that this plan could pave the way for peace and stability in the region, he said. Iran has reiterated that the Zionist regime's promises are hollow and its commitments are utterly untrustworthy.