BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 20. Iran has no hostility toward any of its neighboring or regional countries, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said at a press conference in Tehran on July 20.
"Iran firmly believes that the only way to establish lasting security in the region is through cooperation and understanding among regional countries, without military intervention and interference by the United States. Iran calls on regional countries to prevent the United States from using their capabilities to launch attacks against Iran. As long as attacks on Iran continue, Iran will respond," Baghaei said.
He added that Iran has been threatened with attacks in various forms, including threats to target the country's power plants, calling such actions unacceptable by any standards.
The latest escalation in US-Iran relations began on July 8. On that day, U.S. armed forces carried out several waves of strikes against Iranian territory, reportedly in response to an attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first such action after a memorandum was signed between Washington and Tehran. On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the suspension of the ceasefire regime with Iran. In response, Tehran began strikes against U.S. facilities located in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman.
On July 20, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had successfully completed its ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran.
