Iran (IMNA) - In a detailed statement issued on Saturday, the ministry said the U.S. naval blockade—described as an act of aggression under the UN General Assembly's definition—and attacks on military and civilian targets and infrastructure inside and outside Iran amount to a blatant breach of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter.
The ministry criticized the UN Security Council for failing to respond, comparing its inaction to its conduct during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. It also said the UN secretary-general had limited his response to "vague and ambiguous statements" without taking effective action.
According to the statement, U.S. actions over the past 15 months satisfy all three conditions under Article 39 of the UN Charter requiring Security Council intervention: a threat to peace, a breach of the peace, and an act of aggression.
The ministry also presented what it described as evidence of U.S. "lies" and "pre-planned" violations of the June 18 ceasefire. It said that between July 5 and July 17, U.S. frigates were repeatedly observed operating alongside large oil and LNG carriers, while commercial vessels were allegedly used to transport American military personnel, equipment, and hardware. It added that many vessels transited the southern route with their tracking systems turned off in an effort to avoid detection by Iran's armed forces.
Referring to an incident in July, the ministry said a U.S. warship took cover behind a large LNG carrier while using what it called the unsafe and illegal southern route, describing the move as "dangerous and irresponsible" and evidence of Washington's intention to exploit the ceasefire to prepare hostile operations against Iran.
The statement further rejected the U.S. justification for launching a new wave of attacks on the same day, saying allegations involving three commercial vessels were fabricated. It argued that the ships' flag states had deliberately attempted to navigate an unauthorized and unsafe route through the Strait of Hormuz imposed by the United States, in violation of Article 5 of the ceasefire agreement, which it said assigned future management of the strait to Iran.
Reaffirming its regional policy, the ministry said Iran harbors "no hostility toward the countries of the region" and seeks friendly relations with all its southern Persian Gulf neighbors. However, it warned that under the UN definition of aggression, permitting an aggressor to use a country's territory or facilities to carry out unlawful attacks on another state constitutes an act of aggression. It added that Iranian defensive strikes against the source of such attacks should not be regarded as attacks on the host countries.
The statement concluded by reaffirming Iran's determination to continue what it described as the "powerful defence of national dignity and independence against the savage and unrestrained onslaught of the American-Zionist coalition of evil."
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