Iran says U.S. will not set timing of war and peace

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran would not allow the United States to determine the timing of war and peace, saying Iran's decisions would be based on national security, national interests and the country's expediencies, Iran Press reported on Monday.

Speaking at his weekly press conference about media claims of a joint Islamabad-Doha plan for a ceasefire and return to negotiations, Baqaei said: "Washington is trapped in a crisis that it created itself alongside the Zionist regime, and it must pay the price for it."

He also criticized what Iran Press described as a contradictory U.S. approach to Iran's peaceful nuclear program and permission for Saudi Arabia's civilian nuclear program. "The peaceful use of nuclear energy, under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), is the right of all countries," he said, adding that U.S. behavior was based on "law-breaking and selective approaches."

Baqaei said the United States had used British military bases during what he called a 40-day military aggression by the U.S. and the "Zionist regime" against Iran, calling it a violation of Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the UN Charter and saying the UK government must be held accountable. Asked about Ukraine's attack on an Iranian vessel and Europe's possible role, he said supporters of Ukraine must also be held accountable and that Ukraine's "recent adventurism will not go unanswered."