The top Iranian diplomat delivered a speech to the virtual forum of Global Town Hall 2026, entitled ‘Calling for a Global U-Turn: Recentering Development, Reclaiming Humanity, Restoring Justice in a Crazi(er) World’ and hosted by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) on Saturday, September 19.
What follows is the full text of his statement:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful;
Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen;
Today, we have gathered here to address a theme that not only reflects the challenges before us, but also signifies the responsibility that we all have, a call for a global turnaround, restoring development to the center, reviving humanity, and reestablishing justice in a crazier world.
The world in which we live, more than ever before, requires a fundamental change, of course, because in this world, war, intervention, sanctions, and the use of force, rather than being exceptions, have become standard instruments of policy. Now the fundamental question is, how have we arrived at this point? How has a system established to prevent war, support peace, protect human dignity, and ensure the administration of justice become so powerless today in the face of aggression, the slaughter of civilians, and the blatant violation of international law?
The answer must be sought in a bitter reality. Decades of foreign intervention, military pressure, and endless wars in the Middle East have proven an undeniable truth. Military intervention does not create security, and the exertion of pressure and coercion does not lead to peace. Instead, war has been normalized as a primary instrument of international relations and has led to the perpetuation of patterns of perpetual confrontation and conflict.
The tragedy of Gaza and the ongoing crimes committed by the Israeli regime are among the clearest and most horrific manifestations of this failed pattern. What is taking place in Gaza is not merely a humanitarian tragedy. It is a test of the conscience and collective responsibility of the international community. The slaughter of civilians, forced displacement, collective punishment, and the destruction of vital infrastructure, having gone without effective accountability, have extended to Lebanon as well. Unfortunately, a dangerous pattern has now taken shape, a pattern in which military force is no longer used as a last resort, but has turned into a permanent mechanism for redesigning the political and security landscape of the region.
Under such circumstances, aggression becomes normalized, escalation becomes institutionalized, and destruction turns from a consequence of war into an instrument for advancing political goals. This trend did not stop at the borders of Gaza and Lebanon. The military aggression of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran is also understandable within this very framework, a war that was illegal, unjust, aggressive and unprovoked. This war is part of a broader pattern of unpunished aggressions, including the campaign of targeted assassinations of Iranian officials, threats against political authorities and figures, violation of national sovereignty and the impunity of aggressive actions.
If these are not met with an effective response from the international community, they will gradually erase the prohibited boundaries of international law. Such policies will yield no result other than the tragedy of the killing of 168 innocent students in Minab. The victims of such crimes are not merely numbers among the statistics of war casualties. Behind each of these lost lives, there was a family, a future, and the life. This is the very point where we must ask ourselves, how far? When do we say enough is enough?
Ladies and gentlemen;
If international law is disregarded whenever the interests of major powers dictate, one can no longer speak of the rule of law. If human rights are an inherent right for some nations and a conditional privilege for others, they can no longer be called universal. If international institutions, including the United Nations, cannot stand up against aggression and hold accountable the violators of international law, it is only natural that the credibility and legitimacy of these institutions will be damaged. Yet the solution is not the abandonment of multilateralism. On the contrary, today's world needs genuine, effective, and just multilateralism more than ever before.
A global turnaround requires the political will and courage to alter the course of the current trajectory, from militarism toward sustainable development, from interventionism toward respect for national sovereignty, from collective punishment toward the protection of civilians, from selective accountability toward universal justice, and from endless wars toward the lasting peace.
What the world needs is a new paradigm; a paradigm in which development is regarded as part of security; the sovereignty of countries is respected; international law is applied equally and without discrimination to all; and no political, strategic or geopolitical interest is given priority over human lives.
In the Middle East, sustainable security cannot be dictated from outside the region. Regional security must belong to the region itself. The countries of the region must be able to discuss their security, stability, development and common future and find their own solutions without the intervention of foreign powers.
For the Islamic Republic of Iran, this is not merely a theoretical view. This approach is the result of a historical experience and a lesson for which the Iranian nation has paid a heavy price. We believe sustainable security is achieved through dialogue, confidence-building, cooperation and mutual respect among the countries of the region, not through the military presence of foreign powers and the imposition of their will.
Today the international community stands before a historic and civilizational choice. We can continue down this very path, the path of militarism, intervention, confrontation, and endless wars. Or we can have the will and courage to change course. We can place development back at the center of attention. We can prioritize human dignity over power calculations. We can remove justice from monopoly and selectivity. and we can once again restore real meaning and credibility to international law. This is the very fundamental turnaround that today's world needs, and its time is neither tomorrow nor in an uncertain future. Its time is now.
Thank you for your attention.