Tehran reserves right to respond to US aggression - Iran's UN envoy

Iran's Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, has said that Tehran reserves its legitimate right to defend itself and respond to the blatant US and Israeli aggression.

Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting organised at the request of Iran with an aim to address the June 21 US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Iravani said that Iran is defending itself while the United States is supporting terrorism in the region, Caliber.Az reports, citing Iranian media.

He further stressed that the US claims against Iran are not true and are not legal, but rather political. The US action in assassinating the martyr Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's IRGC Quds Force, was a terrorist act and he, who was an official force of the Islamic Republic, was assassinated.

The US attacks were not without reason, but were carried out due to the actions and decisions of Europe, Britain, France and Germany, as well as the biased behaviour of the IAEA Director General. While Iran was preparing for another round of diplomatic talks, the Zionist regime engaged in aggression against Iran before another round of negotiations began, Iravani underlined.

"Our Foreign Minister was negotiating and talking with the European Troika when this American action destroyed the negotiations. How can Iran return to the negotiating table when it has not left it?" Iravani added.

Saying that the Islamic Republic of Iran, as an independent and peace-loving country, has repeatedly warned the war-mongering US regime to avoid falling into this quagmire, Iravani added, "Now, Iran, based on international law, reserves its legitimate and full right to defend itself against this blatant aggression by the United States and its proxy, the Israeli regime. The timing, type, and dimensions of Iran's proportionate and reciprocal response will be determined by our armed forces."

On June 22, Amir Saeid Iravani called for the UN Security Council to urgently arrange an emergency meeting over the US aerial attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. Later the same day, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi directly responded to the Iranian side’s call and announced an emergency meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors.

By Khagan Isayev