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Iran has warned the United States it will be “solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences” of its attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, with Tehran’s foreign minister condemning the strikes as crossing a major red line.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivered the stark warning during an address to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Sunday, speaking just hours after US President Donald Trump announced that American warplanes had “obliterated” three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Araghchi said the US had crossed “a very big red line” by attacking Iran’s nuclear sites and called on the United Nations Security Council to act immediately.
“It is an outrageous, grave and unprecedented violation of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law,” he said, adding that the “warmongering and lawless” US administration will be “solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of its act of aggression”.
The Iranian foreign minister accused the US of working together with Israel on the strikes, saying the attack revealed “the extent of the United States’ hostility towards the peace-seeking people of Iran.” He declared: “The US military attack on the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of a UN member state carried out in collusion with the genocidal Israeli regime has once again revealed the extent of the United States’ hostility towards the peace-seeking people of Iran. We will never compromise on their independence and sovereignty.”
Iran has vowed to defend itself against both American and Israeli actions. “The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to defend Iran’s territory, sovereignty, and people by all means necessary against not just US military aggression, but also the reckless and unlawful actions of the Israeli regime,” Araghchi stated.
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The current crisis began when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched strikes on Iran on 13th June. Netanyahu praised Trump’s “bold decision” to hit Iran’s nuclear sites, saying Israel and the US acted in “full coordination”. He has pledged to continue the attacks for “as many days as it takes” to stop Iran from developing a “nuclear threat”.
Iran maintains that its uranium enrichment programme is purely for civilian purposes, such as generating electricity, and denies Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons.
After the strikes, Trump demanded that Iran “must now agree to end this war” and said that under no circumstances could Iran possess a nuclear weapon. However, Araghchi dismissed any demand to return to negotiations on the country’s nuclear programme as “irrelevant”.
Iran’s foreign minister accused the US of betraying diplomatic efforts while negotiations were still ongoing. “The world must not forget that it was the United States which – in the midst of a process to forge a diplomatic outcome – betrayed diplomacy by supporting the genocidal Israeli regime’s launch of an illegal war of aggression on the Iranian nation,” Araghchi said.
“So we were in diplomacy, but we were attacked. They gave a green light to Israelis, if not instructed them, to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. They have proved that they are not men of diplomacy, and they only understand the language of threat and force.”
Araghchi also accused President Trump of betraying American voters who elected him on a platform of ending “America’s costly involvement in ‘forever wars’”. “He has betrayed not only Iran by abusing our commitment to diplomacy, but also deceived his own voters by submitting to the wishes of a wanted war criminal who has grown accustomed to exploiting the lives and wealth of American citizens to further the Israeli regime’s objectives,” said Araghchi, referring to Netanyahu.
Despite Iran’s warnings, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday that America still hopes Iran will return to peace talks. “I can only confirm that there are both public and private messages being delivered to the Iranians in multiple channels, giving them every opportunity to come to the table,” he told reporters.
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The conflict has already taken a heavy toll. According to Iran, more than 400 people have been killed and at least 3,056 others wounded since Israel launched its attacks on 13th June. In Israel, at least 24 people have died in Iranian strikes.
Iran has called for urgent international action in response to the US strikes. The country’s delegation to the United Nations formally called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday. In a letter submitted to the council carried by Fars News Agency, the Iranian delegation urged “immediate action and the adoption of necessary measures under the framework of the United Nations Charter”.
Araghchi warned that the international community’s failure to respond could have global consequences: “Silence in the face of such blatant aggression will plunge the world into an unprecedented level of danger and chaos. Humanity has come too far as a species to allow a lawless bully to take us back to the law of the jungle.”
Following the strikes, Iran’s foreign minister announced he would head to Moscow for urgent consultations with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday morning. “Russia is a friend of Iran and we enjoy a strategic partnership,” he said in Istanbul. “We always consult with each other and coordinate our positions.”
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