Tehran cites UN self-defence clause for retaliatory strikes on US

Tehran [Iran], June 10 (ANI): The Iranian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the US military strikes on southern Iran, labelling the overnight attacks as a "blatant violation" of international law.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, the ministry issued an official statement asserting that "in the early minutes of Wednesday morning ... the US regime launched brutal attacks against areas in the south of the country."
Tehran further argued that the American military intervention directly breached established global legal frameworks.
The ministry stated, "these attacks constitute a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter, particularly Paragraph 4 of Article 2, and the fundamental principle prohibiting the resort to force in international relations."
In retaliation to the strikes, Tehran maintained that its forces acted strictly within the bounds of international law to protect its borders.
The ministry said that it responded to US military aggression and the violation of Iran's sovereignty as part of its legitimate right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Highlighting the counter-offensive launched by its military, the statement added, "the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran targeted and struck US bases in the region that served as the launch points for these aggressions," while also condemning the "American regime's crime in its military aggression against Iran."
Following the multi-front escalation, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held separate telephonic conversations overnight with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and Turkiye to review intensifying geopolitical friction, it was reported by the country's IRNA news agency.
The diplomatic dialogues focused primarily on a thorough assessment of the latest regional developments. During these high-level exchanges, the US military aggression and the violation of Iran's national sovereignty and territorial integrity were strongly condemned by Araghchi.
The Iranian Foreign Minister further utilised the platform to signal Tehran's unwavering position on armed pushback, explicitly emphasising the inherent right of Iran's legitimate self-defence and the launch of retaliatory responses by Iran's armed forces against aggressors.
Providing immediate context to these diplomatic warnings, a significant geographical expansion of the ongoing West Asian conflict unfolded simultaneously on the ground as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a drone attack against the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, according to Tasnim News Agency.
Detailing the overnight operation, the Iranian broadcaster stated, "IRGC Navy forces launched a drone attack at 2:30 a.m. against the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain," citing an IRGC statement which warned that should what it described as US "aggression" continue, it would face consequences of greater severity.
The paramilitary force outlined its version of the material impact in southern Iran to substantiate its claims of American hostility, revealing that the warmongering US regime attacked several points in Jask, Sirik and Qeshm early this morning under false pretexts.
According to the IRGC, as quoted by Iranian media, the hostile strikes damaged a telecommunications mast in Sirik and destroyed two water tanks in the city, with the agency adding that clashes were continuing.
The drone strike on Bahrain came mere hours after US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that American Air Force and Navy fighter jets had struck Iranian air defence installations, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the strategic Strait of Hormuz using precision munitions.
Detailing the objective behind the heavy aerial campaign, CENTCOM described the operation as "a proportional response to recent attacks on U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters," asserting that US forces "remain vigilant and postured to defend against unjustified Iranian aggression."
The high-stakes American strikes were themselves triggered by a maritime flashpoint on Monday, when Iran downed a US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter near the coast of Oman.
Providing an update on the personnel involved, CENTCOM stated that both crew members were successfully rescued and are currently in a stable condition.
Prior to these heavy aerial exchanges, Araghchi had explicitly warned Washington that Tehran's armed forces would leave "no attack or threat unanswered", writing in a post on X: "Leave our region if you want to be safe."
The hostile incursion marks the very first time in the current round of military exchanges that the IRGC has directly targeted the command base in Manama, which oversees American naval operations across the Middle East, including the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and Arabian Sea.
The direct military confrontation between the two adversaries has been ongoing since late February 2026, when the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran under Operation Epic Fury. (ANI)