Iran is reserving the right to self-defence until the military aggression against the country is fully and definitively ended. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said this following reports in US media of US strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its legitimate right to self-defence until the military aggression is fully and definitively ended,” Gharibabadi told reporters.
However, the deputy minister did not confirm that the strikes on Qeshm had actually taken place. Thus, reports of a US military operation on the island remain based on publications in US media, without official confirmation from the Iranian side.
Tehran set a condition for ending the aggression
Gharibabadi’s wording links the continuation of the right to self-defence to the full and definitive cessation of military action. He did not specify any concrete future measures, timelines or targets that Iran might choose to respond against.
Qeshm Island is located in the Strait of Hormuz - a strategic maritime passage through which a significant volume of global energy trade passes. Reports of strikes on Iranian territory increase the risk of renewed tensions in the region, but no confirmed details have so far been announced about the scale or consequences of the alleged operation.
Information about Gharibabadi’s statement was reported by Agence France-Presse, while Iran’s ISNA news agency said that the deputy minister had not confirmed the strikes themselves. Tehran’s and Washington’s next official statements will show whether the reports about Qeshm will lead to a new military escalation.
Sources: bta.bg, nampa.org, abcnews.com