Not a war of choice, but of necessity, says Iran

The spokesperson of the Iranian Foreign Ministry has insisted Iran is “adamant to maintain good and friendly relations” with countries in the region, many of which have been targeted by Iranian missiles and drones since the outbreak of war.

However, he insisted that Iran has the “right to defence” itself if other countries’ territories are used to launch attacks on Iran. “Our act of defence cannot be interpreted as an act of hostility towards any of these countries,” he said.

Responded to reports of Iranian munitions being launched towards Turkiye, Cyprus and Azerbaijan in the last week, he said “no offensives were initiated from Iranian territory” towards these countries.

He also suggested some of the reported attacks may have been “staged”, saying “we have warned repeatedly that the enemy may stage certain attacks to drive a wedge between us and other countries.”

Asked about possible mediation efforts for a ceasefire, Baghaei said discussions of such a topic are “irrelevant” for the time being.

“As we speak, military confrontations are still underway,” he said. “At this particular point, speaking of any matter other than defending our homeland is irrelevant.”

“We did not initiate or start this war,” he added. “It is not a war of choice. it is a war of necessity that was imposed on us.”

-Al Jazeera