KELUM BANDARA
Exclusive
Excerpts:
- No barrier for barter tea trade with Sri Lanka from Iranian side
- We are prepared for war even for ten years
- In Iran, we defend ourselves
- This means that negotiation and peace are somehow a threat to the Zionist regime and the United States, They fear peaceful settlement of any problem.
Q In Iran’s perspective, how long will this war continue?
For giving the right answer to your question, we have to look at the ground for this escalation. Why did these attacks happen against Iran? On February 28, the United States and Zionist regime launched an attack on Iran.
They are killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure, which constitutes a gross violation of the principles of international law. These attacks happened when we were in the middle of negotiation. This is for the second time.
Eight months ago, when we were negotiating with the United States, Oman, as a moderator, said that there are real hopes to have negotiations concluded. In the middle of negotiations, the United States attacked.
This means that negotiation and peace are somehow a threat to the Zionist regime and the United States, They fear peaceful settlement of any problem. They don’t like to have a peaceful settlement. They want to kill. They want to attack. Unfortunately, we cannot say for how long this war will continue because of this real issue. This is a real war. This is not tension. They attack Iranian civilians and infrastructures in cities directly.
The Zionist regime and the United States present a dangerous pattern that was previously carried out in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and recently in Venezuela. Today, it is in our homeland and tomorrow it may be repeated in any other country. Therefore, no nation should consider itself immune from such actions. Iran is not the last and it is not the first.
Q How long can Iran sustain this war when it is being attacked by two powers?
It is a fact that we are well prepared because we have known our enemies for 47 years ago. We are well prepared to have resistance. Our military and armed forces are well prepared. The spokesman of our armed forces said that we are prepared for more than 10 years to have this war.
Q The friendly countries of Iran like Russia and China have condemned the attack. But at the same time, they have asked for a stop to violence. What is your response?
We are not the country which began the war. The U.S. and Israel attacked us. They started the war. We tried severely not to begin the war. We went for negotiation.
We have made all efforts to talk and settle the issue peacefully. Because of that, when the countries say two parties should restrain themselves, it means not Iran. We are right now in the position to defend ourselves. We are defending ourselves in terms of the article of the United Nations Charter about legitimate defence. The other parties are attacking. If somebody should stop, it is not Iran. We have the legitimate right to defend ourselves.
Q In the meantime, even the Islamic countries like Turkiye have called for a stop to violence. Turkiye has criticised Iran for attacking or targeting the other Islamic countries. What is the response?
Iran remains committed to its policy of good neighbourliness. However, it is expected that terrorist bases which are located in our neighbouring countries should stop their activities.
We expect that neighbouring territories will not become bases for enemies who commit crimes against innocent children in Iran. We don’t attack neighbouring countries. We just attack the bases of our enemies, which are located in our neighbouring countries.
Before the attack, we warned all our neighbouring countries that if one attack happened from one of the bases of the United States in the region, we would attack directly to that base. So, our attack on the United States bases in neighbouring countries does not mean that we attack our neighbouring countries. We attack our enemies.
We can attack them because they are our target. If our neighbouring countries do not permit them to operate from their bases, we never attack those bases.
Q What is the situation in the Strait of Hormuz where 20 percent of global oil shipping takes place?
A part of Hormuz is now blocked because of our national interests. Because of our national concerns, we cannot permit navies and ships to pass freely through the Strait of Hormuz without permission of Iran.
Now, we are in a war situation. In terms of international law, countries can do some special management in the straits. They cannot permit enemies to pass through this strait. We cannot also allow permission for other ships which do not belong to enemies because they are in danger. Anytime, it is possible to expect an attack from enemies on these ships. We are responsible for keeping the stability of this strait.
Until the end of this war, we cannot permit ships to pass through the strait.
Q What is your assessment of its impact on global trade?
We actually informed all the countries several times that the United States and Israel regimes, by breaching all international well-recognized rules, can cause global economic problems. We know that this part of the world is very sensitive. The Middle East is very sensitive for all countries including Sri Lanka. Because of that, we have tried several times to ensure that no war happens in this area.
But, we are the victims. We are not the beginner of this attack and war. We are defending ourselves. We don’t have any other way until the other party stops their attacks.
Q : For you to stop violence, what are the conditions you lay down at this moment?
I’m not in a position to say something about our conditions for stopping this war.
It is actually war- attacks from two countries. I mean two regimes, because we don’t recognise the Israeli entity as a country or as a government. They attack us. It is a war.
It is not violence. I’m not in a position to spell out conditions for stopping this war, but the Iranian authorities are in the position to do it. But until now, I know that Iranian authorities say they are not ready to stop the war. Attacks continue. We are engaged with defending ourselves. This is not a good time to talk about stopping the war.
Q Sri Lanka is a country that has a non-aligned foreign policy. Under the current circumstances, what do you expect Sri Lanka to do?
Yes, Sri Lanka is a neutral country. But it doesn’t mean that Sri Lanka should be silent about the breaching of international law. Neutrality means that this country should not side with one party of the war. But it doesn’t mean that this country should keep silent when it sees the basic international regulations are breached. I expect the Sri Lanka government to state their position clearly whether it is acceptable to Sri Lanka to see killing children in Iran like killing children in Gaza.
Is it acceptable to say Sri Lanka is a neutral country, and therefore it should keep silent when this country sees a massacre in Gaza? There is no relation of that with neutral countries. Right now, just in one case, the United States attacked Iranian students- more than 180 students were killed. I don’t think that neutrality means that this country should keep silent.
Q Recently, your foreign affairs minister contacted his Sri Lankan counterpart. At that moment, what was the message actually?
This conversation was about multilateral, bilateral cooperation as well. We have a very good background of relations with Sri Lanka during the past hundreds of years. We have good cooperation with international organisations.
We have a very good background of Sri Lankan civilisation. In Iran, we respect Sri Lankan people because they are highly educated. They are highly civilised people. This conversation was about multilateral, bilateral economic, cultural, and political cooperation. Also, our foreign minister explained the latest development of regional issues to his counterpart.
Q The whole situation now will have a kind of an impact on Sri Lanka’s tea trade with Iran. Do you have any idea about it?
From our side, there is no obstacle. There is no problem in continuing this cooperation in tea trade. I think it is for Sri Lanka’s party to decide about it. From our side, there is no problem.
Q Currently, there is barter trading taking place. Will that continue?
Yes, we have a MoU about this issue. Right now, the Sri Lankan party should continue its commitment about paying back.
Q As for Iran’s nuclear programme, you have enriched uranium beyond the level of peaceful means. What is the current status?
Do you remember eight months ago when U.S. President Donald Trump bombed Iran? What did he say at that time? He said he destroyed everything and Iran had not anything to do with nuclear activities.
If this is real, what is the concern of the United States right now? He said,” I came to Iran, bombed and demolished all Iranian nuclear infrastructure. Iran will not have or cannot have any more nuclear activities from now on,”
He said not one time, not twice, but several times. All that he said is on record. Now he said that Iran should not have nuclear activities. Is this a lie or the previous one a lie? Which one is a lie?
Honestly speaking, from our principled position, we did not, we do not, and we will not engage in military nuclear activities. All our nuclear activities are conducted under the supervision of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). That’s an economic nature. We are members of NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons). If somebody should make you concerned, it is not Iran. It is Israel. Israel has weapons- nuclear weapons. Israel is not a party to the NPT. You are not a member of NPT and you have nuclear weapons. Then, you are the threat of international stability. But Iran is a member of NPT. We don’t have any weapons. We are under the supervision of IAEA. Which one is a threat to international stability and peace? Iran or Israel? This is my question.
Q Some of your top-notch scientists were killed in the attack. Did that attack hamper Iran’s nuclear programme, whatever it is?
Nuclear activity is knowledge. It is not infrastructure. Yes, there is infrastructure. The most important thing about nuclear peaceful activities is in the mind of people. It is knowledge. It is not related to the building infrastructure.
Knowledge is in the mind of Iranian scientists. Some of them were killed by the United States and Zionist regime.
Q In this war situation, Iran does not have any Iron Dome which works as a shield from missile attacks whereas your neighbouring countries have to protect from your attacks. In this war, the damage which you can inflict is limited as a result. What is your view?
We have a variety of technologies such as missiles and drones. You see the situation of Tel Aviv and some other cities of Israel. We are breaking through the protection system of Israel. If the system is a good system, we should not be able to attack.
Q Ambassador, how does Iran intend to contribute to regional peace in the overall context?
According to past experience, you will find that Iran has been one of the main countries in the region committed to stability and peace. We have no record of creating instability in the Strait of Hormuz. On the contrary, as a powerful country in the region, we guarantee the security and peaceful navigation of the Strait.
Historically, you cannot find a single instance where Iran has invaded or attacked another country. There is no record of such aggression. We have only defended ourselves. Therefore, there should be no concern about regional stability — provided that non-regional countries refrain from interfering in the affairs of this region.
Q What about the presence of armed groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas? There are allegations that they are proxies of Iran?
No, they are not proxies of Iran. We do not have proxies. Some groups may have sympathy toward Iran, but that is different. A proxy means that we give orders and they act accordingly. That is the definition of a proxy relationship. We do not order anyone to take action.
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