We've never declared war on anybody. We [Iran] defended…

“We've never declared war on anybody. We [Iran] defended ourselves against wars that were imposed on us. We have no desire to engage in confrontation with anybody.”

Mohammad Javad Zarif

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Iran claims defensive posture, denying aggression while emphasizing sovereignty.

In simple terms: Iran says it defends itself, not attacks.

Key Takeaway

Critically assess diplomatic language.

Themes

international relations defense rhetoric sovereignty

Mood

skeptical analytical

Type

political critical

When to use this quote

policy analysis
media literacy
diplomacy
education

Key Concepts

geopolitics conflict resolution

Questions to Reflect On

What evidence supports defensive claims?
How does rhetoric shape perception?

A Different Perspective

Statements may mask underlying strategic aims.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by Mohammad Javad Zarif

One outcome is almost certain. Extremism stands to benefit enormously from an uncalculated adventure in Iraq,.

Mohammad Javad Zarif

We call upon the nuclear-weapon states to immediately cease their plans to further invest in modernizing and extending the life span of their nuclear…

Mohammad Javad Zarif

I think we are making an assumption that that is the outcome of the negotiations. I think President Assad will be prepared to accept…

Mohammad Javad Zarif

It is important for everybody to insure that the process will go on, that the ceasefire will hold. Of course, there is no ceasefire…

Mohammad Javad Zarif

This visa-waiver thing is absurd. Has anybody in the West been targeted by any Iranian national, anybody of Iranian origin, or anyone travelling to…

Mohammad Javad Zarif

We consider ISIS and extremism to be a threat to all of us in the region. . . . Our position is that we…

Mohammad Javad Zarif

Wake up to the real world. Look at what's happening in the region. Look at where people are going, how people react to humiliation…

Mohammad Javad Zarif

Tehran believes it's none of our business or anybody else's to decide the future of personalities in other countries.

Mohammad Javad Zarif

Understanding that these statements do not represent reality, we should not be threatened by the language that he has used.

Mohammad Javad Zarif

We're [Iran] not dismantling anything. We are uninstalling some centrifuges and reconstructing the Arak reactor, modernizing it. . . . The remaining activities that…

Mohammad Javad Zarif

The United States wanted to send its trained rebel groups to Syria to fight ISIS. Out of twenty-five hundred rebels they had trained, only…

Mohammad Javad Zarif

Iran's military hardware is less than a fraction of that of any of the countries in this region.

Mohammad Javad Zarif

Iran is a powerful country. Iran is a big country with a large population, natural resources, human resources. But we are a country that…

Mohammad Javad Zarif

We try to coordinate regularly with Russia, as well as with others - except for the United States - on what is happening in…

Mohammad Javad Zarif

The nuclear program is not the only issue dividing Iran and the US. Iran's role in the region is also creating conflicts. For example,…

Mohammad Javad Zarif

Explore all 25 Mohammad Javad Zarif quotes

More Against war quotes

“The fire was extinguished, and sniper fire had ceased. Nobody will budge, they were all dead. And the wind swept across jagged rocks, without…

sir kristian goldmund aumann

(I)f France's righteous bloviating against war makes them your Dashboard Saint of International Integrity, it's either because you are sand-poundingly ignorant of how the…

Jonah Goldberg

Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought! Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!…

Helen Keller

You point out that war is only a symptom of the whole horrid business of human behavior, and cannot be isolated. And that, even…

Rose Macaulay

South Africa used to seem so far away. Then it came home to me. It began to signify the meaning of white hatred here.…

June Jordan

Being against the military because you are against war is like being against the Fire Department because you are against fire.

Jim McDonough

If we are to reach real peace in this world and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall…

Mahatma Gandhi

Were aligning ourselves with Kerry. Our allegiance will be for peace, against war, no more deaths for oil, and for a dialogue between the…

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero

Against war one might say that it makes the victor stupid and the vanquished malicious. In its favor, that in producing these two effects…

Friedrich Nietzsche

Drons change the way politicians think about war. You already have society's barriers against war dropping, and now you have a technology that takes…

P. W. Singer

I think that the best way to solve problems and to fight against war is through dialogue. For me the best way to fight…

Malala Yousafzai

O, that we who declare war against wars, and acknowledge our trust to be in God only, may walk in the light, and therein…

John Woolman

The case against vivisection is the same as that against war and all other forms of cruelty - that violence does not produce long-term…

Jon Wynne-Tyson

Our country is now at war and the only way out is forward. I would not change one word I have spoken against war…

David Starr Jordan

I am against war, against violence, against violent revolution, for peaceful settlement of differences, for nonviolent but nevertheless radical changes. Change is needed, and…

Thomas Merton

Browse all 37 Against war quotes

We've never declared war on anybody. We [Iran] defended…

About This Quote

Related quotes

More by Mohammad Javad Zarif

More Against war quotes