TEHRAN — Iran said Sunday Persian Gulf Arab states should pay reparations for their role in U.S.-Israeli military aggression against the Islamic Republic through providing their territory, airspace and waters for attacks and warning that Tehran will pursue accountability for countries which it considers accomplices in the war.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei made the remarks at his weekly news conference in Tehran on Sunday, responding to a demand by the Persian Gulf Cooperation
 Council (GCC) that Iran compensate its member states for damage caused by Iranian retaliatory operations.
Baqaei dismissed the GCC demand as baseless, stating that countries in the region have actively assisted the United States and Israel in their military aggression against Iran and therefore have no grounds to seek compensation from Tehran.
“These countries, or the secretary-general of the GCC, should be careful not to reopen old wounds. The memory of regional countries’ support for Saddam Hussein’s regime has not faded,” he said.
He recalled the financial and military assistance provided by regional governments to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein during the 1980-1988 war against Iran, saying the support amounted to hundreds of billions of dollars and remained a documented historical grievance.
Baqaei said the same countries have now allowed the United States and Israel to use their territory, airspace and territorial waters to launch attacks against Iranian targets, making them accomplices under international law.
“How can they speak of compensation when they actively participated in military aggression against Iran and placed their land and territory at the disposal of the enemies?” he said.
Tehran has documented the involvement of the countries concerned and communicated its findings through diplomatic channels, he added, saying Iran will continue pursuing its claims.
Baqaei said the United States has itself acknowledged the active assistance provided by regional countries, making it difficult for them to deny their involvement.
The remarks over compensation also come amid continuing tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, where Washington has disrupted maritime traffic through its military aggressions and attempts to impose restrictions on Iranian shipping.
Baqaei said Tehran has been in contact with relevant United Nations bodies since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli military aggression and has expressed readiness to facilitate the passage of humanitarian supplies, including essential goods and chemical fertilizers.
However, he said international efforts to restore normal maritime traffic should address the party responsible for the current situation rather than place the burden on Iran.
“At present, they should address the party that caused this situation and disrupted the movement of vessels,” he said, referring to the United States.
He said the United Nations has a responsibility to take a clear position on the military aggression against Iran, adding that humanitarian and commercial shipping arrangements could not be considered separately from the circumstances that had led to the disruption.
Washington has been using military pressure and economic restrictions to undermine Iranian sovereignty while attempting to shift responsibility for the consequences.
Baqaei said the United States has stripped diplomacy of its meaning by repeatedly using negotiations as a cover for military action.
“America has emptied diplomacy of its meaning. Diplomacy is an instrument for preventing tensions, but the United States has used it for ambushes and surprise attacks,” he said.
The spokesman said international opinion has increasingly come to view American diplomatic claims with suspicion, particularly given Iran’s experience of negotiating with Washington.
He recalled that Iran previously reached an understanding with the U.S., but the arrangement failed to last even two weeks, adding that the problem is not whether negotiations are conducted directly or indirectly but whether Washington respects the rights and commitments of the other side.
For Tehran, he said, the central issue is the credibility of American diplomacy rather than the format of any future negotiations.
Baqaei also dismissed speculation about possible changes in the U.S. negotiating team, including reports concerning Vice President JD Vance, saying Iran is concerned with Washington’s overall conduct rather than individual officials.
“The important issue for us is the performance of the United States, not the movement or replacement of different individuals,” he said.
Against this backdrop, the spokesman reiterated that Iran will not leave further military attacks unanswered, stressing that the country is relying on its own capabilities to defend its sovereignty.
“We will not leave any military attack or aggression unanswered, and we have demonstrated this in practice,” he said.
He rejected suggestions that Iran should refrain from responding to American military actions, saying the country is engaged in a full-scale confrontation with hostile actors and could not afford to show weakness.
The same argument underpinned Tehran’s criticism of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which Baqaei slammed for failing to adequately address the consequences of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
He said the agency has adopted a one-sided approach under American influence, undermining its credibility as an independent technical institution.
Baqaei said the IAEA has acknowledged in its latest report that the attacks against Iran have created an unprecedented situation and disrupted the agency’s access to nuclear facilities. However, he criticized it for failing to explicitly identify the U.S. and Israeli strikes as the main cause of the disruption.
“The agency must decide whether it is a technical institution or an organization under the influence of certain countries,” he said.
He said the agency cannot demand the return of inspectors without taking into account the circumstances that have prevented normal inspections, including the military attacks and the agency’s silence over them.
As long as the situation remains unchanged, he said, Iran sees little prospect of an improvement in relations with the IAEA.
Baqaei also rejected speculation about undeclared nuclear facilities in Tehran, describing such claims as non-technical conjecture arising from the agency’s inability to conduct normal inspections.
He said Iran’s right to uranium enrichment derives from its membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), adding that Tehran will not surrender its sovereign and fundamental right to peaceful nuclear energy.
The spokesman also criticized Germany and France for failing to honor their commitments under the 2015 nuclear agreement, stating that their alignment with Washington undermined international efforts to preserve the non-proliferation framework.
The question of international responsibility extended beyond the United States and regional governments, Baqaei said, pointing to European countries that continue supplying weapons to Israel.
He singled out Germany, describing it as Israel’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States, and said Berlin cannot absolve itself of responsibility for the consequences of Israeli military operations.
Germany and other weapons suppliers should be held accountable for the damage inflicted on Iran, he said.
Baqaei also rejected accusations by France and Belgium linking Iran to incidents involving refrigeration systems in shops, describing the allegations as entirely unfounded and part of a broader pattern of European governments making accusations without presenting evidence.
He suggested that Israel is seeking to enlist European countries in its campaign against Iran through fabricated allegations and false-flag operations.
The spokesman called on France to stop making accusations against Iran, warning that such actions could have consequences under international law.