Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that the main objective of U.S. "aggression" against Iran is to dominate the country's resources, and said that Iran will spare no effort in defending its national sovereignty.
He made the remarks at a weekly press conference in the Iranian capital Tehran while elaborating on the goals pursued by the United States in the joint strikes it has waged along with Israel against Iran since late last month.
"Does anybody have any doubt about the U.S. goal of seeking to dominate other countries' resources? We heard (U.S. Senator Lindsey) Graham proudly saying that if the U.S. can seize oil from Iran and Venezuela, they would control 31 percent of the world's oil resources," the spokesman said.
Baghaei condemned U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iranian medical facilities and civilian infrastructure, saying that, regardless of the excuses used by the U.S. and Israel, their targets are the Iranian people, and they aim to destroy Iran. The Iranian people will never allow the enemies to succeed, he said.
"Regarding the attack on the school in Minab (southern Iran), the U.S. initially said that it would conduct an investigation. However on Sunday, the U.S. falsely attributed the incident to 'Iran.' This is shameful. Such shamelessness and criminal behavior by the U.S. is nauseating. Iran is doing everything possible to resist, defend its dignity and honor, and protect the Iranian people from the most despicable actions," he said.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the U.S. launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, some of the leader's family members, high-ranking military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East.
Iran says US "aggression" aimed at dominating resources
The Chinese Consulate General in Istanbul has assisted a group of tourists from the Taiwan region to return home, after they were stranded in Türkiye due to the escalating tensions in the Middle East.
After being stranded for about five days, the 93 Taiwan compatriots started to board China Eastern Airlines’ flights to Shanghai in batches.
This group of Taiwan compatriots were from three Middle Eastern tour groups arranged by the same travel agency in Taiwan.
They had originally planned to return to Taipei via Abu Dhabi, UAE, after their Istanbul trip. However, following the US-Israel military strikes against Iran on Feb 28, many Middle Eastern countries closed their airspace, leading to the cancellation of numerous flights.
"To be honest, I've never encountered this situation in my entire life," said one of the Taiwan compatriots.
"My teacher kept calling to ask when I'd be back because I was constantly revising my leave application, they thought I was missing," said another.
During their stay, the group members changed their tickets at least four times, but the flight schedules all showed indefinite delays, causing them great anxiety.
"In the past few days, we've seen news from the mainland saying they can help us by sending planes to expedite our return," said another tourist from Taiwan.
"These Taiwan compatriots contacted our Consulate General in Istanbul through the consular protection hotline. Our consulate leadership attached great importance to this situation and immediately coordinated with relevant domestic departments, including immigration and border control, as well as airlines, to coordinate getting them on board," said Sui Kaige, director of Consular Affairs Section at the Chinese Consulate General in Istanbul.
"We also provide Taiwan compatriots with assurances on flight seats to meet their needs," said Li Ge, general manager of China Eastern Airlines' Istanbul office.
Chinese Consulate General in Istanbul assists stranded Taiwan compatriots to return home
