Iran builds its security, doesn’t buy it, foreign minister says

Iran’s military security is fundamentally different from nations that depend on foreign powers, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in Ettela’at daily on Wednesday, pointing to the Trump-Zelensky flare-up this week.

“Iran does not purchase its security; it builds it,” he said, arguing that its independence comes at a cost Tehran has long been willing to pay. "Iran has demonstrated that dependence on others is not only a risk but also a strategic mistake."

He said the country has chosen a path of self-reliance, avoiding the risks that come with dependence on shifting geopolitical alliances, highlighted last week in the very public spat at the Oval Office between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Maintaining independence comes at a cost, and Iran has always paid that price. Since the early days of the Islamic Revolution, economic pressures, sanctions, military threats, and proxy wars have all been designed to turn Iran into a submissive player in the international system," he wrote.

"The recent dispute at the White House between Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and Volodymyr Zelensky was not just an ordinary disagreement; it revealed deepening fractures at the core of the international system."

Following the heated exchange, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office reposted his 2022 remarks warning against reliance on the West.

Banners reflecting this message have also appeared across Tehran, featuring phrases such as “End of the mirage” and “Leaning on the wind.”

The column pointed to shifting dynamics in Ukraine, where Zelensky—once reliant on Western aid—now challenges US leadership directly.

“Even small allies are realizing that their dignity comes at a cost,” he added.

Although Iran produces many types of weapons, its arsenal is technologically inferior to Western and many Russian weapons. Iran does not have an effective air force, and despite Araghchi's claim of independence buys many weapons systems from others, such as Russia.

Since Friday's clash, many Iranian hardliners have said that the Trump-Zelensky blowout validates Khamenei’s opposition to negotiations with the United States.

Citing Khamenei’s early February speech, in which he declared negotiations with the Trump administration would not be “wise, expedient, or dignified,” they argue that Trump's confrontational exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office should serve as a warning to those who question Khamenei’s stance.

Araghchi’s comments about self-reliance contrast with the reality that the general population in Iran is experiencing.

With over 40 percent inflation, skyrocketing prices, and the devaluation of the national currency, one-third of the population has fallen below the poverty line—something that, according to many, the officials of the Islamic Republic never experience in their own lives.