🔶 Baqayi: Insisting on the ‘negotiation or war’ duality is not beneficial for the country

Ismail Baqayi, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, on Monday, at his weekly press conference, criticized opponents of negotiations with the United States and said: “Insisting on the duality of negotiation or war is not beneficial for the country.”

He did not consider diplomacy to be “negating defense” and added: “Safeguarding national interests is sometimes achieved through defense and sometimes through negotiation.”

Baqayi, emphasizing the continuation of negotiations and “not leaving the scene,” said: “Just as support is extended to the defenders of the homeland at the feet of the missiles, diplomats also deserve support.”

In recent weeks, hardline political currents in Iran have strongly criticized the agreement with the United States and accused the negotiators of treason. At some protest gatherings, as well as in religious ceremonies, slogans were chanted against negotiators including Abbas Araqchi, the foreign minister, and the continuation of negotiations with Washington was described as undermining the system’s authority. In an interview with a government documentarian in Tehran, parts of which were published on Sunday, 28, Araqchi said that negotiations with the United States were “a collective decision,” and that ending the war is also “a collective decision that is adopted by the Supreme National Security Council.”