- Politics news
- July, 17, 2026 – 08:08
In a statement released on Thursday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry denounced the recent US military attacks against Iran as blatant violations of the UN Charter and international humanitarian law, took a swipe at Washington for sabotaging diplomacy by breaching the June 18 MoU only days after signing it, and called on regional countries to prevent their territory from being used for further acts of aggression against the Islamic Republic.
The statement reads as follows:
Over the past several days, the criminal US regime, while simultaneously announcing a naval blockade against the Iranian nation—an explicit admission of violating yet another of its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum—has intensified its acts of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran and committed numerous war crimes, particularly by targeting civilian facilities and infrastructure.
The attack on the barracks of the Army’s 388th Brigade in Bampur, Iranshahr, in the early hours of Wednesday, July 15, which resulted in the martyrdom of seven courageous defenders of the homeland and the injury of several others; the attack on a wheat storage silo in Hoveyzeh County; the attack on a bottled water production plant in the Musian district of Dehloran County; the attack on the Chabahar maritime control tower aimed at disrupting rescue operations for fishermen and undermining the security of maritime trade; and many other similar attacks are among the war crimes committed by the US aggressors during the past week alone.
These unlawful attacks undoubtedly constitute flagrant violations of the Charter of the United Nations and the fundamental rules of international law.
While strongly condemning these attacks and the crimes committed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran extends its congratulations and condolences to the resilient and honorable families of the martyrs, who sacrificed their lives to safeguard Iran’s territorial integrity, independence, and dignity, and prays to Almighty God for the swift recovery and well-being of the wounded veterans.
The US acts of aggression against Iran, accompanied by the vulgar rhetoric and sinister threats of American officials against Iran, serve no purpose other than hostility toward the Iranian people for insisting on their independence, their legitimate rights, and their human dignity.
The repeated threats to attack bridges and power plants, alongside actual attacks on vital infrastructure, constitute clear evidence of the criminal intent of the US ruling establishment to commit heinous crimes which, under the fundamental principles and rules of international criminal law—including the four Geneva Conventions of 1949—are regarded as grave international crimes. All states are therefore obligated to investigate, prosecute, and punish those who order and perpetrate such crimes.
The direct perpetrators and executors of these crimes should also know that invoking superior orders cannot absolve them of either their legal responsibility or the moral and ethical burden arising from the commission of war crimes.
Inspired by the authentic national, moral, and religious values of the Iranian people, and relying on the fundamental principles and rules of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, particularly Article 51 of the Charter, the Islamic Republic of Iran will employ all its capabilities to defend Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity against the military aggression and hybrid warfare of the US-Zionist enemy, and will show no leniency in this regard.
It is self-evident that the Iranian people’s resistance and steadfastness in the face of the ruthless onslaught of the American aggressors do not in any way relieve the United Nations and the international community of their legal responsibility to fulfill their obligations and hold the aggressors against international peace and security accountable.
Indifference toward US-Zionist bullying and rogue behavior, and inaction in the face of flagrant violations of the fundamental norms and rules of international law and international humanitarian law, will have enduring and dangerous consequences for all countries and for the international community as a whole.
The people of Iran and public opinion throughout the region and the world clearly see that, for the third time within a single year, the US ruling establishment has openly betrayed diplomacy while negotiations were underway. This time, it even failed to honor its own signature on a 14-point memorandum reached through Iran’s good faith and the dedicated efforts of the mediators. Merely twenty days after signing it, under a baseless pretext, it violated various provisions of the agreement and once again reignited the flames of war and hostility against the great Iranian nation.
Thus, the oath-breaking and warmongering US ruling establishment once again betrayed diplomacy and, by once more showing contempt for the institution of mediation and repeatedly violating the norms of dialogue and mutual understanding, nullified and rendered ineffective all components of the June 18 Agreement on the Termination of the War. Full responsibility for all consequences arising from this breach of commitments rests with the arrogant US regime.
While condemning the colonial and hegemonic policy of the United States in violating the sovereignty of states through the stationing of its military bases and forces on their territories, the Islamic Republic of Iran once again emphasizes the responsibility of all countries—particularly the southern neighbors of the Persian Gulf—to prevent the United States from using their territory and facilities to prepare and carry out acts of aggression against Iran. It further stresses that Iran’s defensive strikes against military bases, facilities, and assets used for aggression against Iran are fully consistent with Iran’s inherent and lawful right of self-defense under international law and Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations.
The Islamic Republic of Iran urgently calls upon the southern neighboring countries of the Persian Gulf to immediately prevent the aggressors from using their land, maritime, and air territory and facilities for attacks against Iran, in order to prevent the continuation and expansion of the flames of war in the region and to ensure that the sinister US-Zionist plot to sow hostility and mistrust among the countries of the region does not succeed.
The Islamic Republic of Iran emphasizes that it harbors no hostility or enmity toward any of its neighbors or the countries of the region, and firmly believes that the only path to lasting regional security lies in understanding and cooperation among the countries of the region, free from the military presence, destructive interference, and malicious schemes of the United States.
