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Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the U.S. airstrikes on his country will have lasting consequences and are unacceptable, following American attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Araghchi evaluated the U.S. attack on his country through a post on his X social media account. Reminding that the U.S. is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Araghchi stated that the Washington administration violated the U.N. Charter, international law, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by attacking his country's "peaceful nuclear installations."
"This morning's events are unacceptable and will have lasting consequences. Every member of the U.N. must be alarmed by this extremely dangerous, lawless, and criminal behavior," Araghchi said.
"The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law, and the NPT by attacking Iran's peaceful nuclear installations. The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences," he added.
"Every member of the U.N. must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless, and criminal behavior. Under the U.N. Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests, and people," Foreign Minister Araghchi said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran issued a comprehensive statement condemning the U.S. strikes in the strongest possible terms.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns in the strongest possible terms, the United States' brutal military aggression against Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities—a grave and unprecedented violation of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the international law," the ministry statement said.
The ministry held the U.S. "fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of this egregious act of aggression and heinous crime."
The foreign ministry accused the U.S. of acting "in collusion with the genocidal Israeli regime" and said the military aggression "once again laid bare the depth of depravity that governs American foreign policy and revealed the extent of hostility harbored by the U.S. ruling establishment against the peace-seeking and independence-loving people of Iran."
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is resolved to defend Iran's territory, sovereignty, security and people by all force and means against the United States' criminal aggression," the statement continued.
The ministry said the attack "has unequivocally exposed Washington's criminal complicity with the Zionist regime in orchestrating and waging a war against Iran." .
The foreign ministry statement detailed multiple violations of international law, stating the U.S. action "constitutes not only a flagrant breach of the U.N. Charter—especially the prohibition of the use of force under Article 2(4) and the obligation to respect states' territorial integrity and sovereignty—but also a violation of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 and a devastating blow to the global non-proliferation regime."
The ministry warned that "silence in the face of such blatant aggression would plunge the world into an unprecedented level of danger and chaos."
The Islamic Republic of Iran called on the United Nations, the Security Council, the UN Secretary-General, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and other relevant international bodies "to take urgent and decisive action in response to this appalling breach of international law."
As a founding member of the United Nations, Iran called on the Organization and its member states "to fulfill their responsibilities in the face of the United States' blatant, unlawful unilateral acts against Iran."
The ministry urged "the UN Security Council to convene an emergency session to unequivocally condemn this criminal act of aggression by the United States against Iran and to hold the United States accountable for its egregious violation of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and of the norms of international law."
The foreign ministry specifically criticized the IAEA and its Director General, stating their "responsibility—who, through evident bias in favor of warmongering parties, paved the way for this recent catastrophe—is now clearer than ever."
Iran called on "the IAEA Board of Governors to immediately convene and carry out its legal responsibility in response to this dangerous U.S. attack on Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities, all of which have been under the Agency's full safeguards and monitoring."
The foreign ministry statement concluded by accusing the United States of betraying diplomatic efforts: "The world must not forget that it was the United States that, amid a diplomatic process, betrayed diplomacy by supporting the genocidal and lawbreaking Israeli regime to impose a war of aggression on the Iranian nation."
"Now, in completion of that regime's unlawful and criminal acts, the United States itself has launched a dangerous war against the Islamic Republic of Iran. It has now become abundantly clear to all that the very regime, which enjoys permanent membership in the Security Council is beholden to no principle or morality and will stop at no illegality or crime to serve the aims of a genocidal, occupying regime," the statement said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer supported the U.S. action, stating: "Iran's nuclear program is a grave threat to international security. Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, and the U.S. has taken action to alleviate that threat."
"The situation in the Middle East remains volatile, and stability in the region is a priority. We call on Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis," Starmer added.
A NATO official told Reuters the alliance is "watching the situation closely" following the overnight strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
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