New Delhi: The West cares more about trade than it does for human lives, Dr Mohammad Hossein Ziyaeenia, deputy to the representative of Iran’s supreme leader in India, said in an exclusive interview to NDTV.
The ceasefire would depend on enforceable guarantees by international actors, he said, accusing Western governments and institutions of prioritising economic interests over civilian deaths.
Highlighting that the next two weeks would be crucial, he said that Iran had communicated its terms. “There should be some guarantee,” Ziyaeenia said. “We trust our officials. They are doing their best.”
Iran enjoys popular support and national resistance, and the Islamic nation has shown unity and resilience during the war started by the US and Israel, he said, adding that public backing had reinforced Tehran’s negotiating position.
“They showed that they do not accept oppression, and they will fight back against oppression,” Ziyaeenia said.
He recalled remarks attributed to his country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made some 40 days ago that while Iran’s enemies may start a war, Iran would determine how it would end.
The current Iranian conditions for peace have been made explicit and would stand until they were observed and guaranteed by the UN and other international organisations, Ziyaeenia said.
“If these conditions are observed and guaranteed, we hope that we will be having a permanent peace in all the region,” he added.
Slamming international criticism, particularly on the critical shipping lane Strait of Hormuz, Ziyaeenia said he was “surprised” that global concern centred on the strategic waterway rather than civilian casualties.
“The main concern is the Strait of Hormuz, but not the lives of the people that have been killed in these 40 days,” he said.
He cited deaths of children, bombings of schools, universities and hospitals, and described widespread civilian suffering. More than 400 hospitals had been bombed, and Iranian society was grieving amid continued hostilities, he claimed.
“Our people’s hearts are broken,” Ziyaeenia said.
Mourning rituals and burial of senior leaders, including Khamenei could not be conducted because of sustained attack, the Iranian leader said, comparing his country’s loss with what he described as international fixation on maritime trade flows.
“The Strait of Hormuz is important, but the life of people is much more important,” he said.
Ziyaeenia raised doubts on the credibility and priorities of international organisations, arguing that their focus on energy security and commerce revealed a disregard for humanitarian cost.
“Maybe economics is more important than the loss of people. But it is not like that,” he said.
Ziyaeenia spoke on Iran’s nuclear programme, reiterating Tehran’s long-standing position that it does not seek nuclear weapons. He cited a religious ruling attributed to the supreme leader declaring such weapons illegitimate under Islam.
“We did not want to go towards the atomic bomb,” he said, drawing a sharp distinction between weapons and nuclear energy, asserting that Iran’s civilian nuclear programme would continue regardless of external pressure.
“Peaceful nuclear activities were there, are there, and will be there. No country in the world can dictate to us what to do,” Ziyaeenia said.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, on Wednesday, welcomed the announcement of the two-week ceasefire by the US and Iran, saying an end to hostilities is urgently needed to protect civilian lives and alleviate human suffering.
