Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the Israeli regime’s act of aggression against the country amounts to a “declaration of war”.
Araghchi made the remark in a letter to United Nations secretary general and president of Security Council after the Israeli regime carried out savage attacks on military sites, nuclear facilities and residential areas which killed a number of top commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), nuclear scientists and civilians.
"These oppressive acts are not only constitute a severe violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran as an independent member of the United Nations, but as per international law and international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, are among acts of aggression and war crimes,” he said.
The Iranian foreign minister called on the UN Security Council to fulfill its responsibilities, strongly condemn the aggression and take immediate and specific measures to hold the Israeli regime’s accountable.
He said Iran insists on its inherent right to self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and will “respond decisively and proportionately to these illegal and cowardly actions."
"The Islamic Republic of Iran will act with full determination to protect its sovereignty, people and national security. This is a non-negotiable right,” he added.
Among its targets, the Israeli regime attacked the Natanz Nuclear Facility in central Iran which works under full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he noted.
The top Iranian diplomat warned that the Tel Aviv regime’s reckless attacks endangered the lives of Iranian civilians and caused a worrying threat to regional and international peace and security by posing the risk of a radiological disaster.
Araghchi emphasized that any deliberate military attack against nuclear facilities under the supervision of international safeguards constitutes a gross violation of international law.
The dangerous attack would further undermine the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the UN nuclear watchdog, he warned.
Araghchi said Israel’s purposeful assassination against top military commanders and Iranian scientists in Tehran and the regime’s deliberate and preplanned measures are clear examples of “state terrorism".
"Israel, the most terrorist regime in the world, has now crossed all redlines, and the international community must not allow these crimes to go unpunished,” he added.
The top Iranian diplomat emphasized that Israel will deeply regret its “reckless aggression and the big strategic miscalculation” it has made.
Araghchi called on the Security Council to hold an urgent meeting to address the Israeli regime’s illegal act of aggression and its consequences for the global peace and security.
In brazen contravention of international law, the Israeli regime launched an all-out war on Iran on Friday by bombing the country’s nuclear civilian infrastructure and assassinating some veteran nuclear scientists, as well as high-ranking military commanders.
In a statement on Friday just hours after the latest Israeli aggression, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei warned that the regime must now await a harsh punishment.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the Zionist regime has prepared a “bitter and painful fate” for itself.