Tehran: Minister of Foreign Affairs of the ýIslamic Republic of Iran Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said that the Israeli regime recognizes no boundaries in violating international law. He said that the ýIslamic Republic of Iran will continue its strong self-defense, and our armed forces ýwill carry out their duties with full resolve. Iranian FM said that our missile strikes on military and economic ýtargets in occupied Palestine are solely in self-defense and countering aggression. He said that the Israel's aggression against the ýIslamic Republic of Iran could not have occurred without US support.This was stated by Seyed Abbas Araghchi while addressing the gathering of ambassadors, heads of foreign ýdiplomatic missions, and international organizations residing in Tehran.Seyed Abbas Araghchi said 'I am very happy to meet you today and thank you for ýaccepting our invitation and coming to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I would like to provide some explanations regarding the recent developments and ýwhat we ar e witnessing, the blatant aggression of the Israeli regime against the ýIslamic Republic of Iran. ýAs you have all been following in the news, since Friday morning the Israeli regime ýbegan its blatant aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran - completely ýunprovoked and without any prior justification - attacking multiple targets across ýIran in a clear violation of the Islamic Republic of Iran's territorial integrity. ýAmong the key targets attacked were the Natanz nuclear facilities along with ýseveral locations in Tehran. These attacks resulted in casualties among many ýcivilians across multiple cities, including families, women, children, and our ýnuclear scientists, as well as several military commanders who were not engaged in ýcombat operations but were in their homes at the time'.ýSeyed Abbas Araghchi said 'This occurred while we were in the midst of nuclear negotiations with the US, with ýthe sixth round of talks scheduled for today, Sunday, in Muscat. ýThe Israeli regime recognizes no bo undaries in violating international law. You ýhave all witnessed in Gaza how not only innocent Palestinian civilians were killed, ýbut also human rights, humanitarian law, international law, and all global standards ýwere disregarded. This time, the Zionist regime crossed a new red line in ýinternational law - attacking a nuclear facility, which constitutes a grave violation ýand is strictly prohibited under any circumstances. Unfortunately, the UN Security ýCouncil has remained indifferent'.ýSeyed Abbas Araghchi said 'Many countries, particularly in the region, condemned the Zionist regime's ýaggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially the attack on nuclear ýfacilities. I thank the honorable ambassadors present whose countries denounced ýthis aggression. However, some European nations, which claim to uphold ýcivilization and international law, instead of condemning Israel, condemned Iran for ýbeing attacked!'.ýSeyed Abbas Araghchi said in response to these attacks, we acted in self-de fense - a universally recognized ýprinciple in international relations and a legitimate right of every nation. Our armed ýforces began their response two nights ago, and last night you saw further ýdimensions of it. This will continue. Our missile strikes on military and economic ýtargets in occupied Palestine are solely in self-defense and countering aggression'. ýIranian FM said that on the first night, we targeted only military objectives of the Israeli regime. ýHowever, when the Zionist regime escalated its aggression yesterday by attacking ýeconomic infrastructure - including the Tehran refinery and facilities in Asaluyeh - ýwe responded last night by striking economic targets and refineries within the ýoccupied territories of the Zionist regime.ýSeyed Abbas Araghchi said 'The attack on Asaluyeh yesterday was a clear and extremely dangerous act of ýaggression. Expanding the conflict to the Persian Gulf is a major strategic mistake, ýlikely intentional, aimed at widening the war beyond Iran's border s. The Persian ýGulf is a highly sensitive and complex region, and any military escalation there ýcould engulf the entire region and even the world. ýThis is what the Zionist regime has initiated since yesterday, and we hope the ýinternational community will act swiftly to stop these crimes and aggressions. The ýIslamic Republic of Iran will continue its strong self-defense, and our armed forces ýwill carry out their duties with full resolve'.ýSeyed Abbas Araghchi said 'regarding the attack on the Natanz nuclear facility, I have requested the IAEA ýDirector General to convene an emergency meeting. This meeting will take place on ýMonday, and we hope for a strong condemnation of the Zionist regime for this ýblatant violation of international law - attacking a nuclear facility - by the Board of ýGovernors'.ýSeyed Abbas Araghchi said 'I urge the ambassadors whose countries are members of the IAEA Board of ýGovernors to relay this message to their capitals. ýOur expectation, and that of the internationa l community, is a firm condemnation of ýthe attack on nuclear facilities and even punishment for the regime's actions. This may be the last red line in international law that the Zionist regime has ýcrossed. If the international community remains indifferent to these red lines, the ýconsequences will undoubtedly affect all other nations'. ýSeyed Abbas Araghchi said 'Another point I wish to highlight is that, in our view, Israel's aggression against the ýIslamic Republic of Iran could not have occurred without US support. We have solid evidence of US forces and bases in the region assisting the Zionist ýregime's attacks. We have closely monitored and possess substantial proof of how ýUS forces aided the Zionist regime, but more telling than our evidence are the ýexplicit statements of the US president expressing support. Therefore, we consider ýthe US complicit in these attacks and demand it take responsibility. In our response to the Zionist regime, we have focused on targets within the ýoccupied territorie s. We do not seek to expand the war unless forced to. We never wanted this war and ýwere engaged in diplomacy regarding our nuclear program. But this aggression was ýimposed on us. We are defending ourselves; our defense is entirely legitimate and resolute. It is a ýresponse to aggression. If the aggression stops, naturally, our reactions will also ýcease'. ýSeyed Abbas Araghchi said 'Today, we were supposed to hold the sixth round of nuclear talks in Muscat. As I ýhave repeatedly stated, we are confident in the peaceful nature of our nuclear ýprogram and have no issue demonstrating this to the world, as we did in the 2015 ýnuclear agreement. ýWe are ready for any agreement aimed at ensuring Iran does not pursue nuclear ýweapons; as this is our own doctrine, rooted in our belief in the prohibition and ýillegitimacy of nuclear weapons. However, if the goal of an agreement is to deprive ýIran of its nuclear rights, naturally, we cannot accept such a deal. ýBased on this same rationale, we entered into negot iations with the United States ýand held five rounds of talks. In the sixth round, we were prepared to present our ýown proposal for a potential agreement to the American side. During the previous ýround, the US had presented us with a proposal that contained problematic elements ýand was unacceptable from our perspective. We had communicated our positions ýand prepared a counterproposal to present at today's meeting. We firmly believed ýour proposal could have paved the way for reaching an agreement'.ýHe said that it is abundantly clear that the Israeli regime does not want any nuclear agreement, ýnegotiations, or diplomacy. Attacking Iran amid nuclear talks demonstrates the ýIsraeli regime's opposition to any form of dialogue. ý'If you recall, in past years, Israel repeatedly resorted to assassinations and sabotage ýto derail negotiations' he said.ýSeyed Abbas Araghchi said in the spring of 2021, during Vienna talks on reviving the JCPOA, Israel sabotaged ýthe Natanz enrichment facility, damaging it s power supply and centrifuges. Their ýgoal was to disrupt negotiations. In response, we announced an increase in ýenrichment to 60%. Later, all damaged centrifuges were replaced with more ýadvanced ones. ýThis latest attack was also aimed at destroying diplomacy, and we regret that the ýUS government has aligned itself with this move. Over the past two days, we have received messages through various channels ýclaiming the US had no involvement in the attack. But we do not believe this claim ýand have evidence to the contrary. If the US truly holds this position, it should publicly and explicitly state its stance. ýPrivate messages are insufficient. To demonstrate goodwill, the US must condemn ýthe attack on nuclear facilities and clearly distance itself from this conflict.ýSeyed Abbas Araghchi said 'I hope the international community pays adequate attention and responds ýappropriately to the crimes and aggressions of the Zionist regime, which has ýviolated all principles of international law. This is the b est path to peace in the ýregion and the world'. ý