TEHRAN – In a speech to the Eurasian Economic Forum, Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian spoke about the instability that unfolded in the wake of Israeli invasion of Iran.
He emphasized that Iran’s measured response, rooted in self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, is important in avoiding a broader and potentially catastrophic regional war. “If that was not answered,” Pezeshkian argued that the Israeli attacks “may have spilled into a wide, uncontrollable war across the region.”
The president’s focus was on the war that began on June 13th, when Israel launched a full-scale attack on Iranian soil. The attacks targeted military and nuclear facilities, causing casualties among Iranian military leaders, scientists and civilians.
Israel launched a war with Iran after merciless attacks in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria were largely answered by Arab rulers of the region for the past 20 months.
The conflict with Iran got worse on June 22, with the US joining the fight and launching airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites. Pezeshkian described these actions as blatant violations of international law, the UN Charter and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). He emphasized that “military attacks by the US and Zionist regimes over peaceful nuclear facilities in Iran, under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, are a serious violation of all international regulations.”
Iran responded to American airstrikes by launching missiles towards Aldead Air Force Base in Qatar, a key US military base in the region. In response to Israel, Iran has slammed various military, intelligence news and nuclear-related sites in the occupying regions.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Pezeshkian highlighted the fact that American and Israeli attacks occurred ongoing during discussions between Iran and the United States about Iran’s peaceful nuclear program. He further emphasized that even facilities under IAEA supervision have been targeted. In this situation, he argued that the Israeli regime’s aggressiveness and the brutal acts of illegal, armed terrorist attacks were intended to derail existing negotiations.
Beyond immediate conflict, Pezeschkian discussed the need to abandon a settlement with the Zionist regime, taking into account its systemic human rights abuses, and highlighted the forum as an opportunity to condemn these acts of attack. The President said: “The attack was an irreparable blow to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by a standing committee member of the UN Security Council,” he said.