Iran’s Foreign Ministry Issues Statement in Response to Israeli Attack

Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement in response to Israel’s attack on Iran earlier today.

Following Israel’s aerial attack on Iran in the early morning hours of Saturday, October 26, the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran, while noting that Israel’s attack on Iran was an act of aggression, emphasized the clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter through attacks on military centers in Iran, and strongly condemned these attacks as well as threats to the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of countries.

The Foreign Ministry issued the following statement in response to these attacks:

“As has been repeatedly emphasized by competent authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the inherent right of legitimate self-defense as reflected in Article 51 of the UN Charter, considers itself justified and obligated to defend against foreign acts of aggression.

 The Islamic Republic of Iran, while emphasizing the use of all material and spiritual capabilities of the Iranian nation to defend its security and vital interests, and while being mindful of its responsibilities toward regional peace and security, reminds of the individual and collective responsibility of all countries in the region to safeguard regional peace and stability, and expresses its appreciation to all peace-loving countries in the region and other nations who, understanding the serious prevailing conditions, have expressed abhorrence of and condemned the aggressive acts of the occupying Israeli regime.

 Undoubtedly, the continuation of occupation, illegal actions and crimes of the Zionist regime in the region, particularly the genocide of the Palestinian people and aggression against Lebanon—which has continued under the comprehensive military and political support of the United States and some other Western countries—is the main factor of tension and insecurity in the region.

 The Islamic Republic of Iran, recalling the responsibility of each and every member state of the United Nations, member states of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and member states of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, for urgent and collective action against grave violations of international law and the UN Charter, the Genocide Convention, and international humanitarian rights, which simultaneously constitute serious violations of international peace and security, emphasizes the necessity of urgent and immediate mobilization of the international community to halt genocide, war, and aggression against Gaza and Lebanon and to curb the warmongering of the Zionist regime.”

The statement made no direct reference to Iran’s military and reciprocal response against Israel. A senior Iranian diplomat also stated regarding Israel’s attack on Iran’s military centers: “The Islamic Republic currently has no intention of retaliation in response to Israel’s attacks on some of this country’s military centers in various cities. At present, the system’s priority is to prevent and control the negative psychological and economic consequences of Israel’s attack on Iran.”