On the morning of Friday, June 13, in a deliberate escalation violating the UN Charter and international law, Israel launched coordinated military assaults on Iranian cities, peaceful nuclear facilities, senior officials, scientists, and civilians.
The occupying and rogue Zionist Israel regime has violated Iran’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty, attacking multiple locations, including residential areas in Tehran and other cities in Iran.
As a result, several of Iran’s noblest patriots—defenders of its dignity, sovereignty, and scientific progress—alongside innocent civilians including women and children, were martyred.
Simultaneously, targeted assassinations of Iranian military officials and scientists in Tehran constitute state terrorism. The regime’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has openly claimed responsibility, admitting to these heinous crimes.
Among the targets was the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities—safeguarded IAEA sites. These attacks endangered civilian lives and risked a radiological catastrophe, undermining the non-proliferation regime and the IAEA’s mission.
These actions violate Iran’s sovereignty, constitute aggression and war crimes under international law, and blatantly breach Article 2(4) of the UN Charter.
This principle is one of the main pillars of the international legal order established after World War II. Regardless of the current unstable state of the global system, this rule remains valid, and the attack by the Zionist Israel regime on Iran is a clear aggression lacking any legal legitimacy making it another example of Israel’s destabilising behaviour, now crossing every red line.
The use of concepts such as “pre-emptive” or “preventive” attack, especially without the approval of the Security Council, has no legal legitimacy and is merely a political pretext for violating the sovereignty of states.
An attack on nuclear facilities is associated with serious risks to civilian lives and the environment and can be pursued as a “war crime” in international forums.
According to Article 56 of the First Protocol of the Geneva Conventions, attacks on dangerous force production centres, such as nuclear reactors, are prohibited. Additionally, the safeguard agreements of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, and United Nations General Assembly resolutions also confirm this prohibition.
The silence or inaction of international institutions, especially the UN Security Council, in response to Israel’s attacks on Iran is not only a moral and political error but also a violation of their legal duties.
This is not just an attack on Iran—it is an assault on the international legal order and threat against regional security. Inaction will embolden the aggressor and deepen regional chaos.
We expect all UN member states and governments committed to international peace to swiftly condemn this criminal aggression and take collective action against this reckless adventurism, which threatens global stability.
The grave consequences of this aggression rest entirely on the Zionist regime and its supporters. Based on Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, self-defence is one of the few permissible instances for the use of force in international law. This article merely recalls the “inherent right” of states, and this right is recognized even in the absence of Article 51.
Therefore, Iran, under Article 51 of the UN Charter and the right to self-defence, is entitled to use all legitimate military means to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Iran Embassy in Acccra.