Iran on Thursday rejected the Group of Seven foreign ministers’ final statement, accusing the bloc of lying about Iranian nuclear activities and alleged support for Russia's war in Ukraine.
Ali Akbar Velayati, the adviser on international affairs, said Washington’s plan to expand its presence close to Pakistan’s Gwadar port and along Iran’s southern coast is part of a wider effort to counter China’s growing influence and to secure maritime routes linking South Asia to the Middle East. “The US wants new bases near this vital area to maintain its dominance over regional trade and to contain China’s rise,” he told the official news agency IRNA.
Velayati said the US is facing growing resistance to its presence across several regions, including the Middle East and Asia. He added that Iran, as an independent and influential state, will continue to work with Asian and Islamic nations that oppose what he called Western interference and domination.
Tehran steps up backing for allies
Iran’s foreign minister told parliament on Monday that the country has directed much of its diplomatic and political capacity toward supporting what it calls the “axis of resistance,” a network of regional allies opposing US and Israeli influence.
Abbas Araghchi said the ministry had prioritized “security diplomacy” and coordination with allied movements as part of a broader regional strategy. He said recent months have seen intensified confrontation with the United States and Israel, marked by assassinations and airstrikes across the region. “Under these circumstances, a significant portion of the Foreign Ministry’s efforts has been devoted to supporting the axis of resistance, effectively functioning as the foreign ministry of the axis,” he said.
Western governments have urged Iran to limit its backing for armed groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, saying such support fuels instability. Araghchi said Tehran’s diplomacy also aims to promote a multipolar order and deepen cooperation with blocs such as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate on Tuesday that Iran was engaged in indirect diplomacy when the attacks took place, calling Washington’s approach a “betrayal of diplomacy.”
He said Tehran still seeks a negotiated resolution to the decades-long nuclear dispute but will not compromise on national security.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has final authority on foreign and nuclear policy, has said negotiations with Washington cannot continue under pressure.
Talks between Tehran and Washington, conducted indirectly through intermediaries earlier this year, have stalled since the June conflict, which Iranian officials say shattered trust. Major differences persist over uranium enrichment levels and the lifting of sanctions.
"Tehran is not seeking nuclear bombs and ... is prepared to assure the world about it. We are very proud of our home-grown nuclear program, and is against anyone who tries to sabotage and manipulate it" the diplomat added.
International monitors, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have reported no evidence that Iran is building a nuclear weapon, Khatibzadeh pointed out, adding that US intelligence assessments before the June conflict also indicated that Tehran was not actively pursuing bomb development.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and subject to international oversight, arguing that Western claims of weaponization are politically motivated. US officials, however, have continued to call for stricter limits on Iran’s enrichment and missile programs.
Support for regional groups
Khatibzadeh said Iran remained in contact with regional groups it considers part of its security framework, insisting their attacks on Israel were responses to the situation in Gaza and not launched on Iran’s orders.
“I would like to challenge the concept of proxies and militias... reducing them to being Iran’s militias or proxies is oversimplifying the situation,” he said, adding that for example Hezbollah was created after the Israeli attacks to Lebanon in 1980s. “With or without Iran supporting them, the resistance would stay there."
The Iranian deputy foreign minister added, “Has anybody noticed that Hezbollah has fired any bullets on behalf of Iran in the past few months? Everything Hezbollah has done has been for the cause of Palestine.”
On Monday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told parliament that Tehran had devoted much of its diplomatic capacity to supporting the so-called “axis of resistance,” a term it uses for allied movements in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and among Palestinian factions.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the G7 grouping of wealthy democracies (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) urged Tehran to resume full cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog and to engage in direct talks with the United States.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei called the request "duplicitous and interventionist", saying the G7 had ignored what he described as years of unlawful pressure and military actions by the United States and Israel.
“The United States, because of its unlawful and unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018 and its military attack on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities, is the main party responsible for the current situation,” he said, referring to Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
He added that the three European parties “followed Washington's suit, failed in implementing their commitments and dismissed all of Iran’s diplomatic initiatives with clear bad faith.”
Tehran and the United States engaged in five rounds of negotiations before Israel launched a surprise military campaign on Iran in June. The attacks were capped off by US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
The negotiations have not resumed despite US entreaties.
Baqaei also criticized the G7's backing of the European move to trigger the snapback mechanism under the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 which led to the restoration of UN sanctions on Iran in late September.
“The repetition of the irresponsible position of G7 member states in endorsing the unlawful and unjustified action amounts to endorsing an internationally delinquent act,” he said.
The G7 communiqué called on UN member states to adhere to their obligations following what the ministers referred to as the legal activation of the mechanism.
Ukraine war
The Iranian spokesman rejected the G7’s allegation that Iran is supplying military assistance to Russia.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has no involvement in the Ukraine conflict,” he said. “Those who accuse others should correct their own mistaken policies on global peace and security instead of insisting on a sense of superiority.”
The G7 ministers condemned what they called the provision of military assistance to Russia by North Korea and Iran, reaffirming support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Iranian-designed drones have been key to Russia's war effort against Ukraine. However, Tehran has long denied it provides any military support for the Russian war efforts, insisting that the drones had been supplied before the Ukraine war started.
