Tehran - BORNA - Delivering the keynote address at the International Conference on Peace and Trust in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Pezeshkian said Friday the current global environment of inequality and discrimination has allowed Israel to operate outside the constraints applied to world states.
“In the environment of existing discrimination and inequality, the policy of major powers in West Asia has in practice created a special privilege for the Zionist regime,” he said. “This privilege has been the source of many wars and injustices in the region.”
Pezeshkian said the roots of conflict are not military but structural, shaped by global systems that favor powerful nations at the expense of weaker ones.
“Wars are not sudden events,” he said. “They are the product of selfishness and a sense of superiority. They take root in unjust global economic structures, in institutions that amplify the voices of the powerful and silence the weak, and in legal regimes that make justice conditional on the will of major powers.”
Such a system, Pezeshkian said, has turned peace into “a privilege limited to certain geographies” rather than a universal right.
The Iranian president stated that a combination of geopolitical calculations, Western security interests and the failures of international institutions has contributed to Israel’s sense of impunity.
This, he said, has allowed the regime to pursue aggressive policies, citing repeated crimes in Gaza, settlement expansion in the West Bank and “recurrent attacks on Syria, Lebanon, and also the Islamic Republic of Iran and Qatar.”
“When an actor is effectively exempt from international scrutiny and oversight, the roots of injustice deepen and the foundations of sustainable peace are lost,” he said.
Pezeshkian referenced the Israeli aggression on Iran in June. He said the assault “martyred hundreds of my innocent compatriots” and received international support rather than condemnation.
“The attack not only faced no punishment but was met with full political and military backing from powers that claim to defend human rights and global peace,” he said. “As long as such special privilege exists, one cannot speak of peace or a just international order.”
He said that if the world genuinely seeks durable stability, “no country, not even the major powers, should be allowed to place itself above global rules.”
Pezeshkian called for a rethinking of the meaning of peace, stating that security could not be achieved through increased defense spending or rigid alliances.
“Peace will not come from larger military budgets or hardware-based blocs,” he said. “Nor will it come from performative diplomacy. Peace emerges only when we confront the true roots of instability — inequality, monopoly and discrimination.”
He said all countries have a responsibility to demonstrate that international affairs are not the exclusive domain of powerful governments.
This obligation, he said, should be pursued through regional initiatives, engagement with multilateral institutions and diplomacy grounded in ethical principles. The Ashgabat gathering, he said, should be seen as part of this effort.
“This meeting is a reminder of our shared responsibility to prevent clear deviations from the principles of peace and international trust,” he said.
Pezeshkian thanked Turkmenistan for hosting the event, which coincides with the 30th anniversary of its formal adoption of permanent neutrality. He called any initiative that encourages reflection on peace, security and development “a human and ethical undertaking worthy of appreciation.”
The president praised Turkmenistan’s “Friends of Neutrality for Peace, Security and Development” initiative, which is supported by the United Nations, calling it “a valuable effort by a country that has demonstrated its commitment to peace and security in practice.”
Pezeshkian emphasized Iran’s vision of “active and responsible neutrality,” which he said should not be mistaken for passivity.
“Neutrality does not mean indifference in the face of oppression and aggression,” he said. Instead, he described it as a dynamic approach grounded in international law, humanitarian principles, the UN Charter and “lofty human values.”
“Responsible and active neutrality requires principled and fair positions against any injustice and any clear violation of the sovereignty and rights of nations and individuals,” he said.
Representing “the peace-loving and great people of Iran,” Pezeshkian said Tehran would support “any effort that strengthens the discourse of peace and cooperation at global and regional levels.”
He said he hoped the Ashgabat meeting would help build “the foundations necessary to advance our shared goals” and contribute to “peace, stability and development in the region.”
End Article