Iran says Israeli strikes are ‘declaration of war,’ blames US – report

Iran’s FM said that the “aggression against Iran could not have been carried out without the coordination and approval of the United States.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

On Friday afternoon, Iran’s Foreign Minister said Israeli strikes in the early morning amounto a “declaration of war” and will be responded to in a manner Iran deems appropriate, according to a Fox News report quoting multiple sources.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who turned down the latest proposal in the ongoing negotiations concerning Iran’s nuclear program, added that the “aggression against Iran could not have been carried out without the coordination and approval of the United States.”

On Friday, US President Donald Trump admitted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed him beforehand that Israel was going to strike Iran.

The Wall Street Journal reported that when a journalist asked Trump if Netanyahu gave him a “heads up,” he responded, “Heads up? It wasn’t a heads-up. It was, we know what’s going on,” Trump said.

“Consequently, the U.S. government, as the primary patron of this regime, will also bear responsibility for the dangerous repercussions of the Zionist regime’s reckless actions,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s statement continued.

The Foreign Ministry went on to assert that Israel had violated the UN Charter and that its strikes were a ‘blatant act of aggression” against Iran that it would respond to with “full strength and in the manner it deems appropriate.”

“In accordance with Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, Iran reserves the legitimate and legal right to respond to this aggression. The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to defend Iran’s sovereignty with full strength and in the manner they deem appropriate,” it continued.

“As a founding member of the United Nations — an organization whose very purpose is to prevent aggression, breaches of peace, and threats to peace — the Islamic Republic of Iran underscores the Security Council’s obligation to take immediate action against this violation of international peace and security, stemming from the Zionist regime’s blatant aggression. We call upon the President and members of the Council to act without delay in this regard,” the foreign ministry added.

Israel’s strikes eliminated Hossein Salami, Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and General Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.

According to Iranian media reports cited by The Jerusalem Post, Ahmad Vahidi has been appointed as Salami’s interim replacement. At the same time, Habibollah Sayyari will temporarily assume Bagheri’s position as of Friday morning.

Ahmad Vahidi has previously served as Iran’s defense and interior minister, and from 1988 to 1998, he commanded the IRGC’s elite Quds Force. During his tenure with the Quds Force, he was reportedly connected to the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which killed 85 people.