US accountable for outbreak of Russia-Ukraine war: Iranian military official

“We believe that this devastating war in Ukraine would not have happened without the West’s hegemony and excessive demands, led by the US,” Nasirzadeh said in an address to the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security on Tuesday.

Representatives of defense departments and international organizations, military experts and diplomats from several dozen countries have taken part in the conference to discuss common threats to global and regional stability, as well as various aspects of security in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Europe.

In his remarks, the Iranian general stated Western countries, known as the initiators of war and the parties that have a role in fanning the flames of war, must reconsider their approach and bear in mind that “putting the security of others at risk could draw a reaction that might be difficult for them to predict.”

“What we are witnessing in Ukraine today, to which tens of humans fall victim every day and which will have long-term consequences for the region and the world, is the clear example of Western hegemony and excessive demands with the purpose of maintaining and continuing hegemony, and this attempt has caused major catastrophes so far,” he noted.

He lashed out at the US for adopting “criminal policies” to impose its desired order on the world with a unipolar and unilateral system, stressing the main features of the American policies are ignoring the independence of nations, disrespect for their territorial integrity, and placing no value on the lives of innocent people.

“One of the other policies adopted by the US is resort to proxy wars, which is a leading factor in redefinition of regional order,” the Iranian general added, warning that Washington employs “proxy media war” through satellite and social networks to propagate the Western ideas and attack the national cultures via cognitive warfare to paralyze nations’ resistance power.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, more than 800 delegates from 76 countries have taken part in the conference in Moscow. Interestingly, this list does not include Western states. Representatives of eight international organizations, including the UN, the CSTO, the SCO, ASEAN, the Arab League and the African Union, are also present in the conference.

The central theme of the event is the establishment of cooperation in the new realities arising in the process of establishing a multipolar world order. As the Russian top defense official Sergey Shoigu pointed out in his welcoming speech, since its establishment in 2012, the conference has become a popular platform for discussing acute international problems, but this time it is being held in conditions of “radical changes in the military-political situation”.