Iran condemns US attack on nuclear facilities, warns of consequences

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has strongly condemned the United States' airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, calling them a "grave violation" of the United Nations Charter, international law and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

In a post on X, Araqchi said that the US, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has acted contrary to international principles by attacking installations that, according to Tehran, are for peaceful use.

Describing the morning's developments as "shocking", he warned that they will have "lasting consequences".

"In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing for legitimate self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests, and people," he wrote.

President Donald Trump said the US military struck three Iranian nuclear facilities, Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan, during a joint effort with Israel to destroy Iran's nuclear program after diplomacy failed to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table.

"Our goal was to destroy Iran's uranium enrichment capacity and stop the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terrorism," Trump said.

Trump, who just two days ago said he would decide "within two weeks" whether to join Israel in its efforts to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities, claimed that the attacks "completely destroyed" Iran's key uranium enrichment facilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on the "bold" US strikes, calling the attack a historic moment that could lead the Middle East to peace.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said earlier on June 21 that Iran would not stop its nuclear program "under any circumstances," while Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned that US military involvement "would be very, very dangerous for everyone."

A spokesman for Qom province confirmed that part of the nuclear facility in Fordo had been hit by "enemy airstrikes."

Downplaying the attacks, Iranian state television reported that nuclear materials had been removed from all three facilities before they were hit.

Mehdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser to the speaker of the Iranian parliament, said that Iran had been waiting for several nights for Fordow to be attacked.

"The facility has long been evacuated and has not suffered any irreparable damage from the attack. Two things are certain: first, knowledge is not bombed, and second, the adventurer will lose this time," Mohammadi wrote on X.

Iran's Atomic Energy Organization confirmed that nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan had been attacked by "enemies."

She called the attacks "barbaric" and a violation of international law, adding that she will not allow "national industry" to be stopped.

The decision to strike Iran could be politically risky for Trump, who won the presidential election last year on a promise to keep the United States out of foreign conflicts. Some members of his Make America Great Again coalition have advised Trump against directly involving the U.S. military in attacks on Iran.

Since June 13, when Israel launched an air campaign claiming that Iran was close to developing a nuclear weapon, the two countries have exchanged successive waves of heavy attacks. Iran continues to deny that its nuclear program is aimed at producing an atomic bomb./REL