Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Administrative Council of Hamedan Province:

A Strong Iran—across all sectors and through preservation of national cohesion and unity—is the means of distancing threats including war and sanctions from the homeland and the nation.”

Seyed Abbas Araghchi, in the session of the Administrative Council of Hamedan Province, after paying tribute to the martyrs—particularly the martyrs of the recent twelve-day Sacred Defense, including those from Hamedan—stated: “Our martyrs and our armed forces have exalted us through their self-sacrifice, especially the country’s Aerospace Force, which created and preserved our missile power and, during the twelve-day war, brought its advanced missiles down upon the enemy with strength and dignity, thereby thwarting the enemy’s objectives.”

“Our victory in the twelve-day war over the enemy was owed to the martyrs and to the efforts of the armed forces and those who formed, preserved, and perfected our defensive capabilities. Our capable armed forces established for us an offensive-defense and defeated the enemy.”

Araghchi said: “It is a fact that the enemy failed in all of its objectives in this twelve-day war. In the early days of the war, they were sending messages proposing negotiations and saying, ‘Come, let us engage in diplomacy and talks.’ But the message was clear: we were in the midst of negotiations when you launched your attack—stop the aggression so that the ground for diplomacy may be clarified. Yet they said, ‘Come to the negotiating table; cessation of attacks can be one of the results of negotiation,’ which meant negotiations for surrender.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs continued: “In those very early days of the war, the President of the United States wrote a three-word tweet: ‘Unconditional Surrender.’ Their aim in launching the war was surprise and sudden strikes, and they thought Iran would raise its hands in surrender within two or three days. But such a thing was prevented by the prudence of the Supreme Leader, the swift replacement of military commanders, the reconstruction of the armed forces, and the decisive entry of the Government into crisis management and the provision of the country’s needs.”

He noted: “The correct, timely, powerful, and comprehensive reaction of our armed forces to the enemy’s aggression was of great significance in their failure. In my meetings with the leaders of various countries, I told them that many, during the twelve-day war, claimed that the skies of Iran were under the control of Israeli aircraft. However, they fail to mention that the skies of the Zionist regime were under the control of Iranian missiles, and that, despite multilayered air defenses assisted by the United States and Europe, they could not prevent the Iranian missiles from landing.”

Araghchi said: “Our missiles, for the first time in a war, struck the enemy’s territories with increasing precision and force each day as their deficiencies were remedied. Why do our enemies insist that we must not possess missile capability? Because it is our national capability—created by ourselves—which served us well in the war.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs said: “The instruments of war that determined our destiny were those we ourselves produced. The result was that those who, in the first days of the war, were saying ‘unconditional surrender,’ by the twelfth day were saying ‘unconditional ceasefire,’ requesting that ‘we will stop our attacks, and you stop yours.’ And this is the distinction of a nation that, through its own capabilities, can resist and prevail over the enemy.”

He stated: “Alongside the prudence of the Supreme Leader, the power of the armed forces, and the efforts of the Government and the diplomatic team, the cohesion and national steadfastness of the people were among the other important factors in victory over the enemy during the twelve-day war. The people trusted their Government and leadership, and, with Iranian honor and dignity, stood firm against an enemy that had transgressed all bounds of crime.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs said: “From the standpoint of legal rules and international law, there is no crime that the Zionists have not committed in Gaza. Indeed, one great crime they had not yet committed—the attack on the nuclear facilities of a country—they also carried out in the recent war with the support of the United States.”

Araghchi, stating that the enemy is intensely striving to damage the cohesion that was strengthened during the twelve-day war and that was among the factors of our power and victory, added: “We must be vigilant toward differences and toward those who seek to create discord and polarization.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, in another part of his remarks, said: “Our diplomatic apparatus also exerted its efforts during the twelve-day war to defend the righteousness of the system and the people of Iran, and the result was that one hundred and twenty countries of the world condemned the attacks of the United States and Israel upon the soil of the Islamic homeland and expressed their support for the Iranian nation.”

He, noting that the Supreme Leader has repeatedly emphasized that progress, survival, and honor lie in becoming strong, added: “We must become strong. It is a reality in the international arena that any country possessing strength paves the way for itself, while the weaker ones are suppressed. We must strengthen ourselves in every respect so as to remove from ourselves the shadow of war, threats, and sanctions.”

Referring to the performance of the armed forces in the twelve-day war, the Minister of Foreign Affairs declared: “Our armed forces spared no effort in this regard, and I state today, with full knowledge, that the power of our armed forces, our defensive power, and our missile capability have not merely returned to the level prior to June 12 but have become even stronger.”

He added: “What deters the enemies from war and removes the tension of war from the country is readiness for war. The enemies, under the false impression that the Islamic Republic, following regional developments (such as those in Lebanon and Syria) or under economic pressure, had weakened and no longer possessed its past national cohesion, began the war.”

Araghchi continued: “They started the war through their miscalculations, but now they know that the Islamic Republic is more prepared than ever to defend itself. All of this has caused the tension of war to subside, and it has become certain to them that in no war against the Iranian people will they attain their objectives.”

He stated that Iran’s strategy in this battle was based upon the directives of the Supreme Leader. He said: “Throughout the twelve-day war, we acted in accordance with this strategy of His Eminence the Leader—that we must make our enemies despair of and regret any war against Iran, and teach them the lesson that by imposing war upon Iran they will attain none of their objectives—and this objective could be realized only through resistance, which was displayed in its best and most complete form in the recent war.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs remarked: “Preserving national cohesion and consensus is the foremost concern of the President. He believes that when there is no division, all problems can be solved and overcome.”

Araghchi, continuing with reference to the characteristics of Hamedan Province, said: “Given its capacities, this province must become international and be introduced at the global level.”

He continued: “This province possesses the necessary infrastructures for the realization of this goal, including an international airport, globally capable universities such as Bu-Ali Sina, and institutions of higher education.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs further emphasized the need for the international development of Hamedan Province in the spheres of tourism, branding, and exports.

He considered the attraction of foreign tourists, due to its generation of foreign currency, to be of greater value than domestic tourism, and stated that the figure of eleven thousand foreign tourists visiting Hamedan is ‘very low’ and that by creating suitable attractions—particularly for neighboring countries—this figure must be greatly increased.

He pointed to the strong capacities of Hamedan Province in brands such as Malayer and Hamedan carpets, pottery, grapes and raisins, walnuts, and other products, and called for support for export-oriented companies.

Araghchi deemed the hosting of international events, such as the ECO Tourism Summit, to be of great importance and emphasized that universities must become more active and host regional scientific and international conferences.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, citing an example from his tenure as ambassador to Japan—during which Ferdowsi University launched a project to export saffron to Japan and a Japanese company—stated that holding exhibitions and scientific conferences in Hamedan can transform brands such as walnuts into export commodities.

Referring to the establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Hamedan, he added: “This measure specifically contributes to the internationalization of the city and province of Hamedan.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized provincial diplomacy and said: “Beyond border relations, it entails connecting the capacities of domestic provinces to foreign capacities—especially in the domain of neighboring countries—for the strengthening of the national economy. This diplomacy is essential even for non-border provinces.”