TEHRAN- Iran has denounced as “baseless” the accusations leveled against it in a statement by the G7 leaders following their virtual summit, saying that certain members of the group are the primary source of instability and insecurity in the world.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani vehemently denounced the allegations on Thursday, calling them “a bitter historical joke” and restating the nation’s stance on nuclear weapons.

Tehran was urged in the G7 communiqué released on Wednesday by the U.S., Japan, UK, France, Italy, Germany, and the EU to “never develop a nuclear weapon” and “refrain from providing support for Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other non-state actors.”

“As it has been announced many times, nuclear weapons have no place in the defense doctrine of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.

Kanaani went on to add that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear operations are “completely transparent, peaceful, and within the framework of Iran’s rights and obligations based on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly confirmed that Tehran “has fulfilled all its obligations in this regard,” he continued.

Kanaani reaffirmed the “responsible role of the Islamic Republic of Iran in establishing and strengthening peace, stability and security in the region.”

“The claims made by the Group of Seven are similar to a bitter historical joke, because some members of this group with a dark history of colonialism, the design and implementation of destructive and interventionist policies, as well as military actions in West Asia and other geographical regions, are the main cause of instability and insecurity, not only in the region, but throughout the world.”

Iran was urged to defuse tensions in the region by leveraging its clout with resistance groups in the G7 statement.

The resistance groups in the region, according to Kanaani, “make decisions and act to confront and respond to the war crimes and genocide of the child-killing Zionist regime based on their own judgment and based on the principles, priorities, and interests of their country and people and don’t take orders from anyone.”

The spokesperson stressed the need to hold the U.S. and the UK responsible for their “participation in the war crimes and genocide of the Palestinians by the Zionist regime in Gaza and the West Bank” and denounced the countries’ complete military backing of Israel in the conflict in Palestine.

“The Group of Seven cannot shirk its responsibility and full-fledged partnership and support for the barbaric crimes of the Zionist regime just by condemning a few Zionist settlers,” he added.

The G7 leaders decried “the rise in extremist settler violence committed against Palestinians, which undermines security and stability in the West Bank” in their statement.

They also supported Israel’s cataclysmic assault on Gaza, citing the regime’s “right to defend itself and its people against Hamas.”