Iran entitled to counter US strike: Iran's Foreign Ministry

TEHRAN (Tasnim News Agency), June 22: Condemning the US military attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities as an egregious violation of the UN Charter, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Tehran is entitled to stand against the American military aggression and protect its national interests in the face of crimes.

While the Zionist regime’s war of aggression against Iran has entered the 10th day, the US stepped in and conducted military strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran early Sunday.

What follows is the text of a statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry in condemnation of the attacks:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the brutal US military aggression against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities, which was carried out in gross and unprecedented violation of the most fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law. It holds the warmongering and lawless US government fully responsible for the extremely dangerous consequences of this major crime.

The US military aggression against the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of a UN member state, carried out in criminal collaboration with the genocidal Zionist regime, once again demonstrates the depth of cruelty and depravity dominating US foreign policy and the profound hostility of the American ruling establishment toward the peace-loving and independence-seeking Iranian people.

The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to defend itself with full force against US military aggression and the crimes committed by this rogue regime.

The US crime of attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities --carried out in the early hours of the tenth day of Israel’s military aggression against the Iranian nation-- exposed America's criminal complicity with the Zionist regime in designing and executing military aggression against Iran. More clearly than ever, this revealed the naked truth: that American politics and governance are under the control of a corrupt and criminal Zionist cartel that exploits the wealth, lives, and reputation of Americans to advance its own criminal goals in the world and West Asia.

The US military assault on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities is not only a blatant and unprecedented violation of the UN Charter --particularly the principles prohibiting the use of force and requiring respect for states’ territorial integrity and national sovereignty-- but also a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and a devastating blow to the nuclear non-proliferation regime, committed by a permanent member of the Security Council itself.

The Islamic Republic of Iran reminds the United Nations, the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and other competent international bodies of their urgent responsibility to act in response to this criminal lawlessness. It emphasises that silence in the face of such blatant aggression will endanger the world with unprecedented peril.

As one of the founding members of the United Nations, the Islamic Republic of Iran expects the organisation and each of its responsible members to fulfill their obligations at this critical time, as the world faces an open breach of international law by the United States. We call on the UN Security Council to hold an emergency session to condemn the US aggression against Iran strongly and to hold the rogue regime accountable for its flagrant violations of international rules and principles.

The responsibility of the IAEA and its Director General-- who, through clear bias in favour of warmongering parties, provided the pretext and cover for this recent disaster-- is more obvious than ever. We call on the IAEA Board of Governors to convene an emergency meeting and fulfil its legal responsibility regarding the dangerous US attack on peaceful nuclear facilities in Iran, all of which were under strict IAEA oversight and safeguard agreements.

The world must not forget that it was the United States, amid ongoing diplomatic efforts, that betrayed diplomacy, encouraged the lawless and genocidal Israeli regime to ignite conflict, and now, completing the Zionist regime's illegal and criminal path, has launched a dangerous war against Iran’s core sovereignty.

It is now clear to all that a regime which claims the status of a permanent member of the Security Council adheres to no law or moral principle, and in pursuit of the goals of a genocidal and occupying regime, refrains from no crime or violation of international norms.