Irans Foreign Ministry defends retaliatory strikes against US actions

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has stated that Iran’s recent attacks on US targets across the region are legitimate defensive actions. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Baghaei emphasized that Iran is entitled to defend itself against Israeli and US attacks.

On Saturday, the US and Israel launched a series of attacks across multiple Iranian cities, including Tehran. The attacks resulted in at least 201 deaths, according to Iranian media citing the Red Crescent. In response, Iran fired missiles towards Israel and US military targets in several countries, including Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

Baghaei described the country’s armed forces as defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity against these attacks. The US-Israeli attacks came after a third round of indirect negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program between the US and Iran ended on Friday. Baghaei stated that the negotiations had made significant progress, but were disrupted by the attacks.

The spokesman also noted that this was the second time in less than a year that diplomacy had been scuttled by an attack on Iran. He emphasized that the US “launching an act of aggression against another member of the United Nations” threatened not only regional security and peace but also international law and the UN Charter.

Baghaei defended Iran’s retaliatory attacks, stating that under international law, any logistical support given to the aggressor is a legitimate target for the victim state. He maintained that Iran is not attacking any country in the region, but rather taking defensive actions against perceived threats.

Source: Al Jazeera