Iran FM spokesman accuses US of being world's prime sponsor of terrorism

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh stated in a post on his X account late Friday that the United States is the world's prime sponsor of terrorism. He argued that the narrative advanced by the US Secretary of War on the anniversary of 9/11 is riddled with fundamental contradictions, saying that one cannot wage aggression, carry out assassinations, and inflict civilian casualties while claiming exclusive authority to define terrorism and determine whose violence is legitimate.

Baghaei noted that the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks were not Iranians but rather individuals whom the US itself had armed, organized, or otherwise cultivated in preceding decades. He added that the so-called war on terror that followed brought Afghanistan and Iraq years of war, occupation, civilian deaths, and devastation on a massive scale.

Against this backdrop, Baghaei said that invoking the anniversary of 9/11 to justify a reckless and unlawful war against Iran is utterly absurd. He stated that a criminal war involving the assassination of officials of a sovereign state and the targeting of civilians, including women and children, cannot be made morally coherent simply by wrapping it in the language of counterterrorism.

According to Mehr News, the remarks were made in a social media post and reflect Iran's ongoing criticism of US counterterrorism policies and military actions in the region.