The Israeli and US Regimes' Unlawful Aggression Against the Islamic Republic of Iran

In the early hours of Friday, June 13, 2025, the apartheid Israeli regime, in blatant violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, launched an unlawful armed attack against Iran. In this act of aggression, the Zionist regime targeted residential areas, peaceful nuclear facilities, infrastructure, and other civilian sites, including hospitals, early response and rescue units, and national broadcasting facilities.

The attack inflicted widespread destruction and resulted in the assassination and martyrdom of several senior military commanders, scientists, university professors, and ordinary civilians, including innocent women and children.

This aggressive act is not only a grave violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran as an independent member of the United Nations but also constitutes a serious breach of international law especially international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and the United Nations Charter. Under these legal frameworks, the attack is categorised as an act of aggression and a war crime. These heinous assaults represent a clear violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, according to which the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state is explicitly prohibited.

In accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and in response to the unlawful and unprovoked aggression by the Israeli regime, the Islamic Republic of Iran exercised its inherent right to self-defence. This fundamental right allows any nation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the event of an armed attack.

Iran’s response was fully consistent with the principles and frameworks outlined in the international law, and all measures taken were ensured to be necessary and proportionate to the circumstances.

Following its attack on Iran, the aggressor Zionist regime’s claim that it acted in preemptive self-defence lacks any legal basis. Having initiated the aggression through the violation of Iranian sovereignty, the regime cannot assert a right to self-defence. Preemptive self-defence against a state cannot be rationalised under international law. The apartheid Israeli regime has repeatedly violated Iran’s sovereignty in the past, including the attack on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus in April 2024, the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil in July 2024, numerous assassinations of nuclear scientists and military commanders both inside and outside Iran, and attacks on Iranian defence facilities. The Israeli regime is a terrorist state.

Since October 7, 2023, the apartheid Israeli regime has been committing war crimes and acts of genocide in Gaza and as a result has martyred over 60,000 Palestinians primarily women and children through widespread attacks on residential areas, hospitals, schools, mosques, and churches. Moreover, by putting Gaza under ironclad siege, it has obstructed the delivery of humanitarian aid and blocked the civilian population’s access to basic necessities for survival. For over seven decades Israel has been one of the world’s worst violators of human rights. The regime is currently under investigation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for possible acts of genocide in Gaza. Its senior leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are facing documented charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The recent attack by this regime against Iran is part of a persistent policy in which coercion has become a tool to further its political agenda, and international law is deliberately trampled upon. This is not a case of negligence, but a deliberate destruction of the international legal order.

As a founding member of the United Nations - an organization whose raison d'être is to prevent aggression, breaches of peace, and threats to international peace - the Islamic Republic of Iran underscored the responsibility of the UN Security Council to take immediate action in response to the breach of international peace and security caused by the blatant aggression of the Zionist regime against Iran. Iran has called on the President and the members of the Security Council to act urgently in this regard.

The Security Council’s failure to adopt decisive action against this clear act of aggression reflects a dereliction of its fundamental responsibility to maintain international peace and security. Today, the Council has fallen into silence and inaction; its deliberations are stalled under political pressure and the protection offered by a powerful minority shielding the aggressor Israeli regime. This inaction jeopardises the foundations of multilateralism.

It is noteworthy that the majority of the UN member states especially countries in West Asia, members of the Non-Aligned Movement, and all states that are genuinely concerned about international peace and security, including South Africa have condemned this criminal act of aggression.

US Attack on the Peaceful Nuclear Facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The US aggression in attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities, which took place in the early hours of Sunday, June 22, 2025, exposed to the world the criminal collusion and joint involvement of the United States and the Zionist regime in orchestrating and launching a military attack against Iran. What was targeted was not merely a nuclear site, but the credibility of the global legal order which came under direct attack by this blatant act of aggression.

While the Islamic Republic of Iran has remained committed to diplomacy even amidst imposed warfare by the Zionist regime, and while Iran’s Foreign Minister has been involved in active negotiations and consultations following the attack - with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the foreign ministers of the three European countries (the UK, France, and Germany), and has subsequently engaged in meetings within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and with regional players - Iran came under direct military assault by the United States targeting its nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

For the first time in history, two nuclear-armed actors, one who has already used nuclear weapons in the past and the other which is not even a member of the NPT and has consistently concealed its nuclear weapons program, have carried out a military attack on a non-nuclear-weapon state, a member of the NPT, with a peaceful nuclear program under IAEA safeguards and monitoring.

This is a testament to the failure of the international non-proliferation regime and reaffirms the Islamic Republic of Iran’s rightful stance in defending its legitimate rights.

Furthermore, the United States’ military aggression against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities is not only a blatant and unprecedented violation of the United Nations Charter, but also constitutes a breach of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and a devastating blow to the nuclear non-proliferation regime — an act committed by a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The attacks by the Israeli regime and the United States against Iran have demonstrated that, under the current global circumstances, the NPT no longer possesses the required effectiveness. These aggressions, in fact, call into question the very credibility of the existing international order in ensuring the security of sovereign nations.

Iran has never left the negotiating table. While the Islamic Republic of Iran believes in de-escalation and peaceful coexistence, and accepted indirect negotiation with the United States - being fully prepared to reach an agreement within a framework that ensures Iran’s non-acquisition of nuclear weapons while also upholding its legitimate right to peaceful nuclear energy and the lifting of sanctions and just as it was on the verge of entering the sixth round of indirect negotiations, it had to face attacks by the Israeli regime and subsequently the United States.

Iran has always stated that it is not seeking nuclear weapons. My country's nuclear activities have been entirely peaceful and conducted within the framework of international regulations, safeguards, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Under the NPT, International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) inspectors have regularly visited Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities, and Iran remains under the most rigorous inspections and verification measures imposed by the Agency.

In addition, a Fatwa (religious decree) issued by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran has explicitly prohibited the production and use of nuclear weapons, and therefore such weapons have absolutely no place in the defence and security doctrine of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iran will not renounce its legitimate rights to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

There has never been any confirmation of an active nuclear weapons program in Iran, and thus, the aggressions by the United States and the Israeli regime lack any legal and international legitimacy or acceptability.

The peaceful use of the nuclear energy in Iran is an absolutely native scientific achievement — one that cannot be erased through pressure, threats, or bombardment.

The Israeli regime, as the only entity in possession of nuclear weapons in the region, is not a member of any of the three key disarmament treaties, including the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). Despite this, the regime - which in blatant violation of international norms possesses all three categories of weapons of mass destruction — consistently and systematically levels baseless accusations against Iran’s peaceful nuclear program without presenting a shred of evidence, in a clear attempt at deception and justification for its aggressive actions.

Recently, Mr. Rafael Grossi, IAEA Director General, admitted that “we had no evidence that Iran was systematically pursuing a nuclear weapon”. This acknowledgment came far too late. He deliberately concealed this truth in his biased report — a report exploited by European countries and the United States to draft a resolution based on unsubstantiated allegations of “non-compliance”. The resolution became a pretext for a warmongering and genocidal regime to launch an aggressive war against Iran and conduct an unlawful attack on our peaceful nuclear facilities.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is a peace-loving nation and has not attacked any country in the past 250 years. Over the past decades, it has consistently been the victim of aggression. Based on its declared and practiced principles over the past 46 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always sought to establish and maintain friendly and balanced relations with all countries and has remained committed to international law and has never initiated any war. However, if any country chooses to attack us, we shall defend strongly. Iran’s national security is non-negotiable.

Following the initiation of this aggression by the Israeli regime, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly defended the Iranian people and gave the aggressor a firm lesson.

These acts of aggression have also sparked a wave of strengthened solidarity among the Iranian people. The nation, in harmony and cooperation with the country’s politicians and military forces, is determined to confront any conspiracy against Iran.

At this juncture, I must sincerely express my gratitude for the courageous positions and support of the South African government and people in condemning the aggression against Iran’s sovereignty. In recent days, we have witnessed a wave of popular solidarity across South Africa, including widespread demonstrations actively participated by various walks of life.

Furthermore, political parties, civil society groups, religious and cultural institutions, intellectuals, academics, and influential social figures in South Africa have vocally supported the Iranian nation’s right to defend its sovereignty and have condemned the actions of the Zionist regime. This wide-ranging solidarity is a clear manifestation of the political awareness and moral commitment of the South African society to the principles of justice, international law, human dignity and anti-apartheid.

In conclusion, I call upon all countries, freedom-loving nations, international institutions, and peace activists not to remain indifferent in the face of the ongoing violations of nations’ rights— particularly the blatant aggressions committed by the Zionist regime against Lebanon and Palestine and to amplify the voice of global condemnation.

* Mansour Shakib Mehr, The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to South Africa.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.