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‘Not our choice’: Iran minister Araghchi on Oman strike, says military units now ‘independent’
“What happened in Oman was not our choice…As a matter of fact, our military units are now in fact independent and somehow isolated,” Aragchi said.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday responded to questions on Iranian strikes across Gulf countries, even as explosions were reported in Dubai, Doha, Manama, and the Omani port of Duqm for a second consecutive day.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Aragchi specifically elaborated on the strike in the Duqm port in Oman, which is playing mediator between Iran and US-Israel. The Iranian foreign minister said that the attack was not the regime's choice, adding that the armed forces were now acting independently based on general instructions.
"What happened in Oman was not our choice…As a matter of fact, our military units are now in fact independent and somehow isolated, and they are acting based on instructions — you know, general instructions — given to them in advance," Araghchi said.
He added that the Iranian leadership has “already told our armed forces to be careful about the targets they choose.”
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'Gulf partners shouldn't pressurise us to stop this war': Iran FM
The Iranian foreign minister further said that the Gulf countries should not pressure Tehran into halting the strikes.
“They [Gulf partners] shouldn’t pressurise us to stop this war. They should pressurise the other side,” Araghchi told the channel.
He said that the war had been “imposed on us by the United States and Israel”, while urging Iran's Gulf partners to understand the situation.
“I wish that they understand that what is going on in the region is not our fault, it is not our choice,” the Iranian foreign minister said.
Regarding the strikes that Iran has launched on countries in Middle East, Araghchi said that some are “not happy” and others “even angry”, Al Jazeera reported. However, Araghchi refused to budge from his stance regarding the retaliatory strikes, and insisted he had been in direct contact with his regional counterparts since the escalation of the conflict.
