According to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, the official, responsible for strategic planning and administrative development for the defense ministry, made these statements during his participation in a meeting of defense ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), held in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Talaei Nik stated that, currently, “the world considers the United States and the Zionist entity as symbols of state terrorism,” referring to Israel.

The SCO is comprised of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus, and constitutes a forum for cooperation on political, economic, and security matters.

The deputy minister also maintained that Washington’s inability to impose its agenda is due, in part, to the “determination of the Iranian people and their armed forces.”

The high-ranking official stated that the United States must recognize the need to abandon what he called “illegal and illogical” demands, alluding to Washington’s demands, backed by Israel, that Tehran abandon its missile and nuclear programs, a condition that Iran rejects.

In this context, tensions between the two sides escalated into clashes that began on February 28, followed by an escalation of attacks and reprisals in the region.

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