Iran’s top diplomat has accused the United States and Israel of crossing a critical red line by launching attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, warning of serious consequences and vowing a firm response.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking on Sunday at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Istanbul, condemned the strikes and announced plans to travel to Russia for urgent talks with President Vladimir Putin.
“They crossed a very big red line by attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities,” Araghchi said, referring to coordinated US and Israeli strikes on multiple sites, including the underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo.
“The most dangerous attack occurred just last night,” he said, acknowledging that he had yet to receive full damage assessments. “I still do not have exact information about the level of damage, but I don’t think it matters. Last night’s attack was a grave crime.”
The airstrikes came as US President Donald Trump confirmed that American warplanes had targeted three Iranian nuclear sites, nine days into an Israeli bombing campaign focused on crippling Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Araghchi denounced the strikes as a threat to international stability.
“Through this action, the United States has dealt a serious blow to international peace and security,” he said, warning that Iran would respond by all means necessary to US military aggression.
He added that he would depart for Moscow later on Sunday for “serious consultations” with Putin scheduled for Monday morning.
Following the strikes, President Trump declared that Iran “must now agree to end this war.” But Araghchi dismissed any calls for renewed negotiations as irrelevant and disingenuous.
“The world must not forget that it was the United States — in the midst of diplomatic efforts — that betrayed the process by backing the genocidal Israeli regime’s illegal war of aggression against Iran,” he said.
“We were engaged in diplomacy, and they attacked us. They’ve shown they are not men of diplomacy but of force and threats.”
Turkey, host of the OIC summit, issued its own warning, stressing that the escalating conflict risked spinning out of control with “catastrophic” global consequences.
“The ongoing developments could cause the regional conflict to escalate to a global level. We do not want this catastrophic scenario to come to life,” Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
AFP
