Iran accuses US of breaching ceasefire following seizure of commercial ship

Описание: (20 Apr 2026)
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Tehran, Iran - 20 April 2026
1. Wide of Esmail Baghaei, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, arriving for briefing
2. Wide of briefing
3. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Esmail Baghaei, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman:
(Responding to question on Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium) "Just as the lives of Iranians are valuable and sacred to us, anything that counts as Iran’s assets matters just as much, and we have to work to protect and preserve it."
4. Wide of briefing
5. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Esmail Baghaei, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman:
"The Americans talked about transferring it (the uranium) to the United States and things like that. I made it clear in my previous interview that transferring it has never been on the table as an option for us."
6. Wide of briefing
7. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Esmail Baghaei, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman:
"When it comes to safeguarding Iran’s national interests, we don’t recognize ultimatums. That's the first point. Second, we didn’t start this war. On both occasions, in June and again in February, we stepped in to defend Iran’s sovereignty and made it clear that we will keep defending ourselves as long as Iran’s interests require it. Without a doubt, if the United States or the Zionist regime start any new adventurism, the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be fully ready to defend the country with full strength."
8. Wide of journalists
9. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Esmail Baghaei, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman:
"As for the Strait of Hormuz, the European Union can’t just call Iran out over fuel price concerns while knowing full well that the United States is behind the situation."
10. Wide of briefing
11. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Esmail Baghaei, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman:
"What we’ve been dealing with are ceasefire violations during periods when the pause was supposed to hold, whether in Lebanon, or in what they claim is a naval blockade of Iran, or even attacks on a commercial vessel. All of these are clear breaches of international law and the United Nations Charter, as well as direct violations of the ceasefire. In a situation like this, how can anyone really trust the United States’ claims about reconciliation and diplomacy?"
12. Wide of briefing
13. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Esmail Baghaei, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman:
"We’re still in a state of war. Even though a ceasefire has supposedly been announced, it’s one that, unfortunately, has been broken repeatedly by the United States from the very start. Then came statements saying Iran’s ports and ships would be targeted, which only made things more complicated. As long as this situation continues, we can’t just move ahead one-sidedly and talk about normalizing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz."
14. Wide of Baghaei leaving
STORYLINE:
Iran called Monday the United States' seizure of an Iranian ship near the Strait of Hormuz a clear breach of both international law and an agreed ceasefire.


The U.S. attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship it said had tried to evade its naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.







AP video by Saeed Sarmadi

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