'Iran never appointed Pakistan or any other country as interlocutor': Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi

In an interview with DH, Hakeem Ilahi highlighted the civilisational ties between Iran and India, and also spoke about the limits of mediation and how Iran is planning the reconstruction of the nation under fire.

In a period of profound West Asian instability, Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi, Representative of Iran's Supreme Leader in India, offers a defiant assessment of the country's geopolitical stance. Describing the current conflict not as a clash of nations, but as a "personal war" driven by specific political interests, Illahi outlines Tehran’s readiness for long-term resistance while reaffirming its nuclear-free stance.

In an interview with DH, he highlighted the civilisational ties between Iran and India, and also spoke about the limits of mediation and how Iran is planning the reconstruction of the nation under fire.

As the conflict with the US and Israel prolongs, how does Iran assess its strategic endurance — calibrated resistance or a long war of attrition?

From the beginning, Iran didn't want to have the war and tried as much as possible to avoid it. Iran didn't have trust in the US, but negotiated with them 12 days before this war. And in the first negotiation in Oman, all members of two delegations announced that the talks were successful. And then they started negotiating in Geneva. There, one member of the US delegation, who is from the UK, even said that he was surprised how Iran offered to America a lot of things and praised our generosity. But unfortunately, while we were on the table of negotiations, they attacked Iran. And the first day, they killed a lot of Iranian commanders. They even killed the Supreme Leader of Iran. They killed a lot of innocent people and civilians too. As many as 170 innocent girls were killed. And they damaged a lot of houses. And Iran actually responded to them. And Iran said we are ready to continue defending ourselves. Iran can continue like this for 2, 3, 4, 5, 8… years, because we have enough experience for that. And we have a very strong will for defending ourselves. Because this war is against humanity, against dignity, against our country, against our existence. They started this war without any reason. And I say that this war is not a war between Iran and the US. Because there is no interest for the US in this war. And even this war is not a war between Iran and the Zionist regime. Because there is no interest for them either. Just this war is for two individuals. As the former US Secretary of State John Kerry mentioned that this war is just between the Prime Minister of Israel and Iran. This is an individual war. Kerry mentioned that the Israel regime has tried with every US President to launch an attack on Iran for the last 40 years, but none of the former US Presidents were convinced until Donald Trump. So, they (Trump and Netanyahu) had a lot of problems and they are using this war to cover up them. Otherwise, there is no reason for this war. So, Iran is ready to continue to defend itself. And I am sure that the world and especially world leaders have understood the nature of this war, which is an individual war.

With leaders like Donald Trump asking Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, is there still room for diplomacy or has that window closed?

Iran doesn't have nuclear weapons, and doesn't even want to have them. Iran has clearly announced several times that we don't have nuclear weapons. And our Supreme Leader issued a fatwa that having nuclear weapons is haram. We have the knowledge, but we don't want to have it. And, they know clearly that Iran doesn't have it. Even Rafael Mariano Grossi (IAEA chief) and some others too have announced that there is no evidence that Iran has nuclear weapons or wants to have it. If there is something which we have to negotiate and to make it clear, we are ready to do that. We prefer to negotiate with them than to have war, because war doesn't bring peace. The war doesn't bring calm. And a lot of people will die due to the war. And a lot of nations and countries will suffer due to this war. The price of oil, the price of everything has increased due to this war. And a lot of countries are suffering from this war. I even heard from some countries that they have made their holiday three days — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — because they don't have enough oil and gas. Even a lot of factories are closed. A lot of restaurants and hotels are closed because of this war. Iran is ready to solve this problem diplomatically but if they don't want to, Iran is ready to defend itself.

What steps is Iran willing to take to prevent a wider West Asian escalation while protecting its core interests?

Iran looks at its own interests. Our priority is negotiation but on our conditions. They offered us a 15-point plan and they wanted a lot of things from Iran. We are not ready for that as they want Iran to unconditionally surrender. But Iran is not the one who sells its dignity, its humanity and its land to others. Iran is ready to defend its dignity, humanity. We are the ones who will set the conditions and tell them under which circumstances we are ready to negotiate with them. And all countries understood that Iran wants to negotiate and solve this problem through the negotiation. But unfortunately, they wanted to get a lot of things. They wanted to change the government of Iran, they couldn't. They wanted to divide Iran into five countries, but they couldn't. They wanted the oil of Iran, but they couldn't. For 40 days they continued the war and then they understood they cannot do anything. And then they suggested a ceasefire. And Iran accepted. But now, they want to get what they couldn't get by the war, they want to get it by discussion. And Iran is not ready to give them.

How sustainable is the Strait of Hormuz disruption strategy, and what costs could Iran face if it continues?

The Strait of Hormuz was open before February 28. For thousands of years, the strait has remained open. And Iran was the one which was spending a lot for providing security to the ships passing through the strait. Iran did not ask for anything from any country for doing that. But after this war, the strait was closed. And due to this, a lot of other countries are affected. Why are the countries which are suffering and are affected by these problems not asking the US and the Zionist regime to stop the war.

Which are these countries?

All the countries.

What were the key outcomes of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, especially on energy and stability?

Due to their good relationship and strong relationship between Iran and India, Iran allowed a lot of Indian ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. In the beginning, they allowed two Indian ships to pass. And also recently, I heard that they are going to give permission for Indian ships to pass.

What are your thoughts on India's role in all this? What has happened there? If you can shed some light on that.

It's a 5,000-year-old bond between Iran and India, and once we were neighbors. We have the same culture, education, behavior, and civilisation. And at this moment also, the relationship between Iran and India is very good and strong. And the Prime Minister of India called the President of Iran three times. And they had a very successful conversation. And the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India also called the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran. And they too had a very successful conversation. And I'm sure that the relationship between Iran and India after the war will be better and stronger.

Can Iran’s ties with the United Arab Emirates and Gulf neighbours normalise soon, or will issues like US bases remain a hurdle?

Yes. Iran wants to have very strong and good relations with its neighbours. If you go to Emirates, you will find the majority of them are originally Iranians. Even in Kuwait, the majority of them are Iranians. They moved from Iran to those countries. Iran told them in the beginning to please not let the US bases in their territories be used for attacking us. America didn't attack Iran from New York, from Washington, or from California. For attacking Iran, the US needs launchers and airports for the air force. Where are these facilities? Our neighbours provided facilities to the US to use against us. We are not against them to have relations and collaboration with any other countries. But we say that this is our right to tell you that don't let your territory be used against us by our enemies. This is our demand from them. However, they provided a lot of facilities to the US. It's not just the bases, there are a lot of other facilities. But finally they realised that the US doesn't bring security for them and cannot protect them. Rather, the US imposed on them to buy weapons worth billions and trillions of dollars from it. Just less than a year ago. President Trump sold weapons worth more than $530 billion to some countries. Because they are scared of the US. But after this war they understood everything. Once the US hegemony is over, they will not obey the country as before.

Does Pakistan’s closeness to Washington affect its credibility as an interlocutor in the region?

I don't have enough information about this issue. But what I know is that Iran didn't appoint any country to be a mediator between Iran and the US. But some countries came together, like Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Pakistan. They came and they started negotiating with the US. And they wanted to work and play a role as a mediator. And Iran also accepted that. But Iran didn't appoint or ask any country to be a mediator.

Is there a lack of trust in this whole process of interlocution? Does Iran trust Pakistan, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey?

No. There is no need for Iran to trust these countries as interlocutors. Iran wants to negotiate with the US, but doesn't have any trust in the US either. These countries are just taking the message from Iran and giving it to the US.

How do humanitarian gestures from India, especially from regions like Kashmir, shape Iran’s perception during this crisis?

Our Supreme Leader (late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) emphasised that India is different from other nations. Indians are very wise, loyal, kind, honest and always stand with oppressed people. Due to that, when Indians realised that Iran is oppressed, they stood with us. This is because of their dignity, humanity, wisdom, and because they are seekers of justice. I met a lot of delegations from Hindu communities. They came to me and said that though they are not from my religion, they support Iran because they are human beings. They are with Iran because they are against aggressors, against the killers of children. They also said that unfortunately Iran’s neighbours, although they are claiming that they are Muslims, provided opportunities for our enemies to attack Iran. And they started supporting Iran because of their goodness, humanity, dignity and wisdom. And there is no difference between Kashmir, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow and any other city.

What is the extent of damage caused to Iran in this war and what is the plan of any kind of rehabilitation that is required?

The damage in Iran is too much. More than 1,00,000 houses have been damaged. More than 50 hospitals are damaged. More than 25 universities are damaged. A lot of public places like malls, shops, even laboratories are damaged. The oldest laboratory institution, which belongs to a hospital, was established in 1920, has been damaged. One of the very modern hospitals in Iran, by the name Gandhi Hospital, was attacked and has been damaged. And this hospital was especially for children. A lot of schools have been damaged. And a lot of police stations too. But we are ready to rebuild them. And as our Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei mentioned, they (US and Israel) have to pay for that. And we know how we will take from them. And Iran has already started the rebuilding process. They even damaged a lot of bridges in Iran. And it was renovated and rebuilt again. They are now working on it. I'm sure. And they built it nicely, better than before.