Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf made the remarks Wednesday at a ceremony held to commemorate Iranian martyrs in the northeastern province of North Khorasan, Press TV reported.
The remarks were in reference to the administration’s decades-long history of carrying out unprovoked aggression against various regional countries and signing so-called “peace” agreements with them aimed at securing goals that cannot be achieved through war.
The top lawmaker said an “expansionist, infanticidal regime” routinely commits deadly aggressions to seize new territory.
However, a top lawmaker declared, “We will neither surrender nor be taken prisoner.”
He cited the Islamic Republic’s thwarting such an invasion by the regime and the United States in June, and its retaliation setting a historic record, as a positive example of Iran’s resilience.
In response, the Iranian military resorted to defensive operations calculated to fend off the invaders’ efforts to infiltrate and disintegrate, and to retaliate successfully in the face of the invaders’ constant airstrikes.
Mr. Ghalibaf pointed out that nearly 80 years have passed since the regime asserted its presence in West Asia, but “never before has a country confronted the regime in this way.”
Less than five days after the retaliation began, “everyone was asking to broker a ceasefire with us,” he added.
The official accused the United States of contributing to the invasion, ignoring that Washington was pursuing indirect negotiations with Iran at the time.
“The United States was talking about peace and dialogue, and President (Donald) Trump was calling for peace. But at the same time, American aircraft were trying to bomb our nuclear facilities.”
As another example of the country’s fortitude in the face of foreign aggression, the official cited its resilience in the face of the war imposed by Western-backed Iraq in the 1980s.
“During the war, our combatants never said, ‘It’s impossible.’ They always said, ‘It must be done.’ They never told the enemy that they lacked troops or equipment. Instead, with wisdom and maturity, they marshaled all the resources they had. ”
Ghalibaf highlighted how the country has remained faithful to the path followed by thousands of martyrs who sacrificed their lives to ensure the country’s security and prosperity since the victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979.
He called the Iranian nation “a nation that has chosen martyrdom.”
“Today, if our beloved country enjoys security and we have exemplary dignity and independence, it is because of the culture of martyrdom and the presence (and contributions) of dedicated combatants and people of all tastes, cultures and faiths.”
MNA