Araghchi: US ‘unconditional surrender’ demand against Iran failed

Tehran - BORNA - Araghchi made the remarks at the 39th national conference of heads of education departments, where he outlined the role of Iran’s diplomatic apparatus during the US-Israeli military aggression against the country and stressed the importance of accurately documenting what he described as a historic chapter of Iranian resistance for future generations, particularly through the education system.

At the beginning of his address, Araghchi commemorated the martyrs of the Sacred Defense and those killed during the US-Israeli attacks against Iran over the past year and a half, paying tribute to senior Iranian figures, military commanders and the martyred Leader.

Referring to the Iranian people’s resistance during the military aggression, Araghchi highlighted the students and teachers killed at the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab as one of the enduring symbols of the conflict.

“The 40-day imposed war had its heroes, from Iran’s martyred and courageous Leader to the students and teachers of the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, whose innocent martyrdom became an enduring epic,” he said.

Araghchi said the school had been deliberately targeted in a missile attack, killing 168 students and teachers.

“The targeting of a school that had been selected in advance, and the killing and wounding of 168 students and teachers in a single moment, is a crime that will never be erased from the historical memory of the Iranian nation or the conscience of humanity,” he said, adding that Minab had stood firm and become a symbol of the Iranian nation’s steadfastness and resistance.

Iran’s resistance and victory

Araghchi praised the Iranian people’s resistance in defending the country against what he described as the brutal aggression of the United States and the Israeli regime.

He attributed Iran’s resilience and victory to reliance on divine power, the leadership of the martyred Leader, national solidarity and cohesion, and the powerful defense mounted by the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic.

Addressing Iran’s victories both on the battlefield and in diplomacy, Araghchi stressed that diplomacy and military power operate in coordination.

“Diplomacy and the battlefield move together in coordination and solidarity,” he said. “Diplomacy, relying on the country’s defensive and military power, consolidates the achievements of the battlefield in the service of safeguarding the security and national interests of the Iranian people.”

He also underlined the strategic role of Iran’s education system in developing skilled, committed and capable human resources.

“A progressive and powerful education system is one of the pillars for strengthening the power of Islamic Iran,” Araghchi said, calling for greater efforts to reinforce the country’s educational institutions.

He also praised Iranian teachers and educators for their role during the military aggression and stressed the need to support the educational community and expand the international capacities of Iran’s education system.

Araghchi said the Foreign Ministry stood ready to facilitate and strengthen Iran’s educational interaction with other countries, including through exchanges of experience, educational methods and technology.

He also stressed the importance of Iran’s active participation in international scientific and educational bodies, including UNESCO, describing such forums as platforms for defending Iran’s positions and interests and presenting the country’s scientific and educational achievements.

‘Unconditional surrender’ did not happen

In another part of his remarks, Araghchi said the recent war would remain unforgettable in Iran’s history.

“This war was, and remains, an unforgettable war in history,” he said.

“The Iranian nation stood for days against what is outwardly the world’s largest military, alongside another military that also claimed to be powerful, with the support and backing of almost all Western countries and some other countries inside and outside the region.”

“They struck Iran hard, but they could not achieve any of their objectives,” Araghchi continued. “The Iranian people resisted and stood firm, relying only on the inexhaustible power of God and their own strength.”

The Iranian foreign minister then referred to a message by the US president during the early days of the conflict calling for Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”

“You remember that in the early days of the war, the US president issued a short message saying: ‘Unconditional surrender.’ That was their entire objective — Iran’s unconditional surrender,” Araghchi said.

“Iran did not surrender. When they saw that this vain hope would not materialize, they tried to pursue regime change. It failed. They tried to dismember Iran. It failed. They tried to arm different groups in cities and in the west of the country — and they themselves admitted that they had provided them with weapons — but that failed as well.”

Araghchi said those who had initially sought Iran’s unconditional surrender soon began seeking negotiations.

“Those who were pursuing unconditional surrender were pleading for negotiations only a short time after the war began,” he said.

“It was we who said that we would not accept a ceasefire and would continue the war until we reached a point where they accepted that the ceasefire and negotiations would take place under Iran’s conditions.”

Araghchi said the diplomatic process involved successive exchanges of proposals before the other side ultimately agreed to negotiate on the basis of Iran’s proposal.

“They presented a multi-point proposal, and we presented another proposal. They changed theirs again, and we changed ours. Ultimately, they accepted that negotiations would take place on the basis of Iran’s proposal. That was when Iran accepted the ceasefire,” he said.

He added that negotiations continued for several months after the ceasefire request was made, lasting longer than the war itself, before the sides ultimately signed a multi-point understanding.

‘You won both the war and the diplomacy’

Araghchi said several foreign ambassadors had told him that nearly all provisions of the resulting understanding favored Iran.

He said violations of the agreement began less than two weeks later because its provisions largely served Iranian interests.

“The biggest opponent and obstacle to the implementation of the memorandum of understanding was, and remains, the Israeli regime,” Araghchi said.

“They made every effort to prevent such an understanding from being reached, every effort to make it fail, and every effort to prevent its implementation. They are still continuing those efforts.”

Araghchi said Iran had negotiated from a position of strength created by its resistance during the war.

“We fought with strength and we negotiated with strength,” he said.

“I will repeat here something that many foreign ministers told me: ‘You won both the war and the diplomacy.’”

Araghchi stressed that what he described as Iran’s diplomatic success should not be attributed personally to him or even to the Foreign Ministry.

“When I say that we succeeded in diplomacy and emerged victorious, this success and victory do not belong to me personally,” he said.

“I swear before God, and I want to emphasize this, that this victory does not belong to the Foreign Ministry. We were merely its instrument. This was the victory of the Iranian people.”

“It was the result of resistance in the war that forced the enemy to accept Iran’s demands,” he continued.

“So when we say we won the diplomacy, it is clear that Iran won — not the Foreign Ministry, not even the government, but all of us together.”

Araghchi said diplomacy serves to consolidate the achievements generated by national power.

“Diplomacy consolidates and strengthens the achievements of power,” he said. “Diplomacy harvests the fruits of power.”

‘Hard power still speaks first’

Turning to the relationship between national power and educational diplomacy, Araghchi said a country’s power is composed of multiple elements.

“Even in today’s world, hard power still speaks first,” he said.

“In this war, our missiles became the central pillar of our power. There is no doubt about that.”

He added, however, that other elements complement hard power and are commonly described as soft power.

Economic strength, media and communication capabilities and, above all, human resources are among the key components of national power, he said.

“A country that has a large, skilled and professional workforce possesses an important component of power,” Araghchi said.

“And who develops that human capital? The country’s education system. The education system can itself be an element of national power.”

He said this was where the concept of educational diplomacy becomes particularly important.

Educational diplomacy and exchange of experience

Araghchi said one of the main functions of educational diplomacy should be the exchange of experience with other countries.

“We do not seek to learn our content or principles from them, but there are many things others have done in terms of implementation methods that we can learn through the exchange of experience and put to use,” he said.

“In the same way, we have experiences that we can share with others.”

He said facilitating the transfer of technologies related to education and training was also among the Foreign Ministry’s responsibilities and could be pursued in cooperation with the Ministry of Education.

Iran rejects ‘empty-chair policy’

Araghchi also stressed the importance of active Iranian participation in international organizations and conferences.

“We are strongly opposed to the empty-chair policy,” he said.

“The seat of the Islamic Republic must not be empty in any international body, conference or gathering.”

“We must be present. We must speak. We must defend our country’s position. We must present what we have and showcase our achievements.”

The foreign minister also highlighted the importance of Iranian schools abroad, saying Iran currently operates 76 schools in 38 countries and dispatches 430 teachers to serve them.

He said the martyred Leader had placed particular emphasis on maintaining Iranian schools abroad and ensuring that Iranian children attended them, even where only a small number of students were present.

At the same conference, Education Minister Ahmad Kazemi praised Araghchi and the Foreign Ministry for their efforts in defending and safeguarding Iran’s national interests.

Kazemi also thanked the Foreign Ministry for supporting Iran’s educational objectives and praised Iranian ambassadors and diplomatic missions around the world for assisting the Ministry of Education’s international programs and the expansion of educational cooperation.

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