TEHRAN
\nThe Islamic Republic of Iran has issued a fiery condemnation of the United States and Israel, accusing them of launching a coordinated military attack on Iranian territory and vowing to retaliate with \u201call their might.\u201d
\nIn an official statement released Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that American and Israeli forces struck \u201cdefense infrastructures and civilian sites\u201d in multiple cities early this morning. The attack comes, according to the statement, on the eve of the Persian New Year (Nowruz) and during the holy month of Ramadan.
\nThe Iranian government framed the strikes as a profound betrayal, asserting that they occurred while Tehran and Washington were engaged in a \u201cdiplomatic process.\u201d The statement suggests Iran entered these negotiations anticipating potential aggression, aiming to demonstrate its commitment to peace and expose the \u201cillegitimacy\u201d of any military action against it.
\n\u201cNow the Iranian people are proud that they did everything necessary to prevent war,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cNow is the time to defend the homeland and confront the enemy\u2019s military aggression.\u201d
\nTehran is branding the operation a violation of international law, specifically citing Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any state. Consequently, Iran asserts its \u201clegal and legitimate right\u201d to respond under Article 51 of the UN Charter, which enshrines the right to self-defense.
\nThe Ministry has issued an urgent appeal to the United Nations, demanding that the Security Council and Secretary-General intervene immediately. It also called upon regional and Islamic countries, as well as members of the Non-Aligned Movement, to \u201cfirmly condemn this act of aggression.\u201d
\nThe statement concludes with a stark warning to Washington and Jerusalem. Drawing on nationalistic and religious rhetoric, it declares that Iran\u2019s armed forces are \u201cmore prepared than ever for defense\u201d and will make the \u201caggressors regret their criminal act.\u201d
\n\u201cHistory testifies that Iranians have never surrendered to foreign aggression and hegemony,\u201d the statement declared. \u201cThis time too, the response of the Iranian nation will be decisive and determining.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TEHRAN The Islamic Republic of Iran has issued a fiery condemnation of the United States and Israel, accusing them of launching a coordinated military attack on Iranian territory and vowing to retaliate with \u201call their might.\u201d In an official statement released Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that American and Israeli forces struck \u201cdefense […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534126,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-534106","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n