Iran FM Spokesperson: U.S.–PGCC statement distorts truth

Pars Today – Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a social media post that the joint statement issued by the United States and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) "distorts the truth and reflects an insistence on repeating failed policies of the past."

According to Pars Today, citing IRIB News Agency, Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, responded on Friday night to the interventionist joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of the United States and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council on June 25, 2026.

In his post, Baqaei wrote: "There is no doubt that Iran, more than any other party, is concerned with the collective security of the region. The Persian Gulf Cooperation Council's belief that the solution to this concern lies in seeking protection from the greatest violator of regional security is self-contradictory. It is a bitter irony and a disappointing sign that no lessons have been learned from the painful experiences of recent years."

Baqaei stressed: "It should be asked why our southern neighbors themselves violated the principle of good neighborliness and the fundamental rules of international law by cooperating in the act of aggression against a fellow Muslim neighbor, and why they allowed their territory to be used against Iran or permitted missiles to be launched from their soil."

He added: "Why do they ignore the destructive arms race and the purchase and stockpiling of hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of advanced weapons that have no defensive justification? Why do they overlook the repeated aggressions of the Zionist regime against countries in the region and its occupation of Palestinian and Lebanese territories?"

Baqaei also wrote: "Why do they remain silent about the occupying regime's nuclear arsenal, which is entirely outside any international oversight, yet portray the conventional defensive capabilities of a country that has repeatedly been threatened and attacked—even from the territory of neighboring states—as a 'threat'?"

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasized: "It should be clear to everyone that Iran's military capabilities guarantee the Iranian nation's inherent right to legitimate self-defense against aggression and crimes, while at the same time serving as a source of peace and stability in the region."

His message concluded: "Iran's national security and dignity are neither negotiable nor subject to conditions. Just as the inherent right to legitimate self-defense can never be a subject of negotiation, the means of exercising that right cannot be a matter of compromise with any party."