Iran condemns 'baseless' claims of G7 FMs

TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Wednesday strongly condemned the "baseless" claims made by the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers at their recent meeting in Italy.

Baghaei's remarks came one day after the G7 foreign ministers issued a statement on the last day of their meeting, condemning Iran's retaliatory missile strikes on Israel on April 14 and Oct 1. The statement also accused Tehran of supporting Russia in the Ukraine conflict by "sending ballistic missiles and drones".

Baghaei said the claims are "completely baseless and rejected" and reflect the "illegal, unjust, unilateral, discriminatory, and coercive approaches of the G7 group, particularly some of its members, which have caused irreparable damage to international peace and security".

The G7 members had severely violated the principle of international relations through "dual and selective" approaches to various international issues, he noted.

"The G7 neither represents the international community nor holds any moral standing to preach about human rights violations globally, especially in occupied Palestine and Lebanon, due to its hypocritical actions regarding gross violations of human rights and humanitarian law," he added.

Baghaei underscored Iran's legitimate right to self-defense against "Israeli aggression" under the UN Charter and international law, adding that Iran was aware of its responsibilities towards security and stability in the West Asia region and would spare no effort to ensure them.