Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is in Kyrgyzstan for a foreign ministers meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization where he delivered a speech in which he warned against silence in the face of US-Israeli crimes against his nation. Referring to the two wars imposed on Iran since last year, Araghchi said the world witnessed repeated aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime, which responded to diplomacy not through negotiations but through military attacks, reported IRNA. He charged that through those attacks, they not only targeted the security of the Iranian nation, but also the credibility of the entire international legal system.
Araqchi also stressed that any source of aggression against Iran would be considered a legitimate target for retaliatory action by the Armed Forces, stressing that any party involved in hostile military activities would bear responsibility for the consequences. “The Islamic Republic of Iran, in accordance with international law, reserves its right to take all necessary measures within the framework of legitimate defense and will consider the source of any aggression against the Iranian nation as a legitimate target for defensive actions by its Armed Forces,” he said.
Araqchi said Iran had exercised its inherent right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter following military aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime, adding that Tehran has not been the initiator of any war. He referred to attacks on civilian facilities, critical infrastructure, economic centers and peaceful nuclear facilities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arguing that the failure of the international community to respond effectively would weaken global security and the rule of law.
