BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 24. Any country participating in the U.S. aggression against Iran or assisting in the strikes against the Islamic Republic will be considered a legitimate target for the Iranian Armed Forces.
This was announced by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Telegram, citing the Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's remarks at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers in Cholpon-Ata.
"Iran reaffirms its determination to protect the country's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity and declares that any participation, cooperation, or assistance in aggression against Iran will entail international responsibility for the relevant parties," Araghchi said.
He called on the SCO countries for solidarity and cooperation, and urged them not to allow "aggression to replace diplomacy, force to replace right, and double standards to replace justice."
Meanwhile, the latest escalation in U.S.-Iranian relations began on July 8. On that day, for the first time since the signing of the memorandum between Washington and Tehran, the U.S. military carried out several waves of strikes on Iranian territory, claiming that this was in response to an attack on a merchant ship in the Strait of Hormuz. On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the end of the ceasefire with Iran. In response, Tehran began attacking U.S. facilities in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Oman.
