Baqaei made the remarks during his weekly press briefing in Tehran on Monday, the 31st day of the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran. The war began two days after the US and Iran held a round of indirect negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, to resolve differences over the Iranian peaceful nuclear program.

“Since the last round of negotiations, what we have received are messages, through various intermediaries, including Pakistan, indicating the United States’ willingness and request to engage in talks,” he said while answering an IRNA question on how Iran has responded to what has been described in media reports as a 15-point plan offered by the US to end the war.

The spokesperson also questioned Washington’s seriousness to pursue diplomacy.

“It is unclear to what extent, even within the United States itself, its claims about diplomacy and negotiation are taken seriously. The reactions and responses also indicate that global trust in the US’s claims regarding diplomacy is very limited,” he noted.

Human rights main victim of US war

Baqaei said that human rights and international humanitarian law have been the main victim of the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.

“In the past 80 years, since the establishment of the United Nations, no comparable case can be found in which, within the span of a single month, such heinous crimes have occurred; crimes that encompass all the criteria of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly even genocide, both in terms of the targets struck and the killing of innocent people,” he said, referring to US-Israeli attacks on civilian sites in Iran, including hospitals, schools, universities, and residential units.

He said that Iran will continue to defend itself against the “unlawful war” waged by the US and Israel.

Iran’s policy on regional countries

The spokesperson said that Iran’s self-defense operations should not be regarded as hostile acts against regional countries, as the operations are aimed at the military bases from which attacks are conducted against Iranian territory.   

The diplomat also stressed that Iran has never considered any regional countries as a foe and will never do so, saying that the Islamic Republic expects these countries to adhere to their international legal obligations as well as principles of brotherhood and neighborliness.

Expulsion of Iranian residents from UAE

On the UAE’s expulsion of many Iranian residents from the Arab country, Baqaei said that Tehran expects Abu Dhabi to treat Iranian nationals in a better way as they have greatly contributed to development and investment in the UAE.

At the same time, he added, the Iranian Foreign Ministry is tasked with protecting the rights of Iranian nationals wherever they are in the world.

IAEA chief’s wrong stance

Further in his presser, Baqaei criticized Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), for his refusal to condemn US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, saying that he took a very wrong stance following his politicized approaches over the Iranian nuclear program in the past two years.

Linking Ukraine and Iran wars ‘a miscalculation’

On Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to West Asian countries and his offer for military assistance against Iran, the spokesperson said that linking the Ukraine war with the Iran conflict is “a disastrous miscalculation.”

The situation is already complicated in West Asia in the wake of the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran and their move to drag other countries into this conflict, he added.

Diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia

The spokesperson said that diplomatic relations are established between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and that the Iranian ambassador is active in Riyadh.

Relations and communications are ongoing between the two countries, and Iran has conveyed its concerns, he added.

Iranian envoy continues activities in Beirut

Baqaei condemned Israel’s killing of a number of Iranian diplomats in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, describing the action as a clear example of terrorism and war crime.

He also said that the Iranian embassy in Beirut is active, where the ambassador will continue its activities.