Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, told Channel 4 in the UK:

CHANNEL 4 HOST: Are you now engaged in a military conflict you simply can’t win? ESMAEIL BAGHAEI, SPOKESPERSON FOR THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN: We are defending ourselves. We are defending against this unprovoked, unwarranted act of aggression. So we have no other choice other than exercising our inherent right to self-defense. What they are doing is a criminal act of aggression. And I think it’s very clear for everyone that they started this war in the middle of a negotiation process, in the middle of a diplomatic process on 28th February. And for the past 20 days, they have killed so many Iranians. They have attacked our civilian infrastructure. They have attacked residential areas. And now they are claiming that they are winning. This is- CHANNEL 4 HOST: Yeah, but you’re not just defending yourselves, though, are you? You’re also attacking Qatar, one of your neighbors. Why attack them if your quarrel is with the U.S.? ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: We are not attacking any country. We are exercising our right to self-defense. CHANNEL 4 HOST: You’re attacking a gas facility in Qatar. ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: The reality is that the United States and Israel are abusing the soil, territories, and assets- CHANNEL 4 HOST: You’re not answering us. Okay, but you’re not merely attacking U.S. assets. You’re also attacking a gas field in Qatar and other Gulf neighbors. I just wonder why. ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: I was explaining. Tell me who started this war in the first place and who started attacking our gas field, South Pars field. It was Israel and Americans that attacked our gas field, our energy infrastructure, in the first place. What we are doing is fighting back in accordance with our right of self-defense. As I said, we are not attacking any country. We are defending ourselves. Those military bases, those assets, those installations that are being used by Americans to conduct their military aggression against Iran are legitimate targets under international law. CHANNEL 4 HOST: But a gas field is not a military asset, is it? ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: I’m telling you, yes, the gas field is shared, and we have made it clear that if Iran’s infrastructure is attacked, we would have to retaliate in self-defense against any infrastructure that is shared by the United States. That’s part of the war game they have imposed on Iran. CHANNEL 4 HOST: Right. We’ll come back to why the U.S. says they launched this war in the first place, but I wonder what you say to your former allies in the Gulf who are calling for you to stop the strikes on civilian infrastructure, stop the strikes on ships going through the Strait of Hormuz. Will you listen to them? Oman, Qatar-these are countries that you’ve cooperated with in the recent past. ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: Sure. We do not feel any animosity or hostility toward the nations of the region. We have in common a lot with these countries. This is the result of American-Israeli aggression against Iran. Please do not forget that the military bases of the United States that are scattered around Iran are being used by Israel to conduct their military aggression against Iran. CHANNEL 4 HOST: But you say-sorry, I must just pick up on it though. You say you’ve got no animosity to your Gulf neighbors. You’re attacking Qatar’s gas field. Abu Dhabi and Kuwait are under attack too, just in the last few hours. That is not a defensive act, is it? That’s Iran lashing out. ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: No, it is not. As I said, we are only targeting those assets, those installations that partly or wholly belong to the United States. They are attacking our infrastructure, and Iranian armed forces are very careful to attack those military bases, those assets that are used by the United States in any form or manner to conduct a military aggression against Iran. CHANNEL 4 HOST: A gas field is not a military asset, but we’ll move on because we have lots of other issues to discuss. … CHANNEL 4 HOST: So are you open to talks with the U.S. now? ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: How come? We were negotiating. We were negotiating when they decided to attack Iran for no reason. So do you think any nation which is right now under attack, whose leaders have been assassinated by terrorist actions-what do you expect from Iran to do? CHANNEL 4 HOST: But clearly this war has to come to an end somehow. Are you open to talks to bring it to an end? ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: Talk to whom? Talk to those who do not believe in diplomacy? They have proven to everyone- CHANNEL 4 HOST: But what is the endgame? How does Iran end this war? ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: As I said, we didn’t start this war. We are defending ourselves. Look at what they are saying to their public, to the whole international community. They insist that they are going to continue their death and destruction on Iran. They are saying proudly they do not believe in any rule of law. They are saying, No mercy, no quarter, and this is war crime. So do we have any other choice other than defending our territorial integrity and sovereignty against this barbaric act of aggression? CHANNEL 4 HOST: So you’re content, and you have the capacity, to turn this into a forever war with America. ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: It is not Iran that has been pursuing forever wars. This is the United States and Israel that have turned our region into a scene of everlasting wars. Look at what has been happening for the past three years. There has been a genocide in Gaza, attacks against Lebanon, against seven countries. So Iran has been in the region for millennia. We do not welcome war. We didn’t start this war. But we have to fight ferociously because this is an unjust war imposed against Iran. CHANNEL 4 HOST: Right. But you say you don’t welcome this war. So how does this war end? Is it, for example, if you renounce your right to enrich uranium-is that a price worth paying to bring peace to the region and peace to your people? ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: As I said, it was not a matter of enrichment. It was not a matter of the nuclear issue. We were talking together. Basically, they said that they obliterated Iran’s nuclear program in June. So it means they are trying to find every excuse to further this whimsical war. They themselves do not know what is the purpose of this war other than being dragged by Israel into this war. CHANNEL 4 HOST: But I’ve asked you several times now how you envisage bringing an end to this war, helping to bring about peace, and you haven’t been able to answer that question. So I can only conclude that you’re really saying to America, this is a forever war if you decide it will be. ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: No, no, ma’am. You are simply misrepresenting what I’m saying. I’m telling you that while Iran is under constant attack, while Tehran is being bombed by the United States and Israel, we have to focus on defending our people against this barbaric act of aggression. So you have to direct this question to those who started this war, not to a nation that is the victim of aggression. … CHANNEL 4 HOST: Who’s actually running the government of Iran? Because a lot of the leaders have been taken out by America. ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: What we have been witnessing has been terrorist acts, war crime, and I think the world has to really stop being indifferent toward these massive acts of war crime and crimes against humanity. CHANNEL 4 HOST: Well, there have been crimes against humanity committed by Iran too, and not least against its own established system. Come on-tens of thousands of people- ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: You ask a question again-it’s a big lie. And I’m sorry that even the main media is being duped by those who have propagated these lies. I was telling you that the Iranian system is the outcome, is the result, of a popular revolution. It is a well-established system. It is not a one-rule band that you can kill a number of people and expect that the system collapse. This is based on the will of the people. CHANNEL 4 HOST: But it’s not a lie, is it, that thousands of your own people have been killed by your own military? I wonder-Israel is asking the Iranian people to rise up and take control of their country. What are the consequences if they do that? ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: As I said, what happened in January was the result of the United States and Israel infiltrating peaceful protesters-gunmen shooting down police forces and peaceful protesters. Three thousand innocent persons-3,170 persons-were killed. Two thousand four hundred of them were regarded as martyrs because they were either police officers or the protesters. And I think it’s very clear to everyone that it was part of the United States and Israel’s plan to make Iran insecure. CHANNEL 4 HOST: It wasn’t Israel and America, though, was it, killing the thousands of people who were protesting, who were calling for freedom? That wasn’t Israel and America killing them. ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: It was peaceful protest turned violent by their interventionist propaganda. When the United States president called for more killing, he said if there are more killings, he would intervene, ma’am. And that was a message given to those infiltrators. So everyone knows it was part of their scheme to make Iran insecure. And I’m telling you, I wonder why don’t you ask any question about 175 innocent kids that were killed in the first hours of the United States-Israel attack against the city of Mina. CHANNEL 4 HOST: Well, you know what? We’ve asked America, and we will continue to ask about that. That’s not a question for you. But just finally, I want to give you one more chance, because people are suffering in your own country and across the world, and particularly in the region. How does Iran help to bring peace to the region? What concession might you offer to bring peace? ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: Again, I’m really surprised that you are directing this question to the representative of a country that is under attack. We didn’t start this war. CHANNEL 4 HOST: You’re under attack and also attacking- ESMAEIL BAGHAEI: No, we are not attacking. We are defending. We are defending ourselves against this barbaric act of aggression by two nuclear-armed regimes. Remember, they are both nuclear-armed. They are attacking another country with an excuse that is even unclear for themselves. First they said imminent threat. Then they said we had to intervene because Israel was going to attack Iran and we had to preempt. So you have to direct this question to those who are the cause of this calamity for the whole region and for the international community.

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