Iran on Tuesday condemned the United States and Israel for launching their latest military assaults against the country while nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington were still ongoing.
Speaking to reporters inside the bomb‑damaged Gandhi Hospital in northern Tehran, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said the attacks, carried out amid ongoing talks, exposed a lack of goodwill.
She added that what is needed now is not only a ceasefire but a mechanism to ensure such actions will not be repeated, so the diplomatic process can continue with credibility.
"This is now the second time this has happened, once again in the middle of negotiations. In the most literal sense, the negotiating table is being bombed. Therefore, any mediation that might take place must naturally be under conditions where not only a ceasefire is established, but where this process comes to a complete halt, so that we can be certain it will not be repeated again. For our people, this is an issue on which they are now demanding assurance, and we must reach that certainty," said the spokeswoman.
The Gandhi Hospital, where Tuesday's press conference took place, was severely damaged in a U.S.-Israeli strike on the night of March 1. Many patients, including newborn babies, were also killed, said Mohajerani.
"The hospital where we are now was operating with investment from the private sector and had been established as a 'hotel-hospital.' It was privately run and intended to provide services to patients. As you have surely seen in the images, many newborn babies who were in incubators were present in this hospital that night," said the spokeswoman in front of a poster showing the photos and names of children killed by the U.S. and Israeli militaries.
Mohajerani reiterated that U.S. and Israel started the war, but the Islamic Republic will end it.
The U.S.-Israeli attacks, now in their 12th day, have killed more than 1,300 people across Iran, according to the Iranian authorities.
Iran condemns US, Israel for launching strikes amid negotiations
A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday slammed Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te over his latest remarks on cross-Strait relations, accusing him of promoting secessionism and escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said in a press release that Lai's speech marking his second anniversary in office was "filled with lies and deception, hostility and confrontation."
Chen accused Lai of stubbornly adhering to a secessionist stance in pursuit of "Taiwan independence," while exaggerating the so-called threats from the mainland and intensifying confrontation across the Strait.
Lai played an old trick of advocating the secessionist agenda on one hand and, on the other, calling insincerely for dialogue and exchanges with the mainland, attempting to mislead people in Taiwan and deceive the international community, he said.
Chen said that these common tricks have been seen through by more and more Taiwanese people. Their deceptive and provocative actions will be met with firm opposition from compatriots on both sides and the international community, and are doomed to fail.
Reaffirming the mainland's position on the Taiwan question, Chen said Taiwan has never been a country, is not one now, and will never become one in the future.
He described the Taiwan question as a historical issue left over from a Chinese civil war in the 1940s.
No election result in Taiwan could alter the fact that Taiwan is part of China or sever the historical and legal bonds linking the two sides of the Strait, according to Chen.
The mainland would never allow any person or force to pursue secessionist activities under any pretext, he added.
Calling secessionists "the chief culprit" who undermines cross-Strait peace, Chen said the mainland would continue to uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, unite broadly with Taiwan compatriots, combat secessionist activities, and safeguard peace and stability across the Strait.
Central government spokesperson refutes Lai Ching-te's latest remarks, warns against secessionist moves
