Tehran condemns US-Israeli strikes, promises 'crushing' response

TEHRAN -- Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that its people and armed forces will deliver a "decisive and determining" response to what it called the "aggressors" and make them regret their "criminal" actions.

In a statement carried by the official news agency IRNA, the ministry said, "Iran once again came under the military aggression of the United States and Israel," adding that US and Israeli forces targeted defense infrastructure and civilian sites in multiple Iranian cities, in blatant violation of Iran's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The ministry criticized the "repeated military aggression" at a time when Tehran and Washington were engaged in a diplomatic process. It said Iran entered indirect nuclear negotiations despite anticipating attacks by the United States and Israel, to demonstrate its legitimacy and the illegitimacy of any pretext used by the aggressors.

The ministry said responding to the US and Israeli strikes, which it called "a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter," is Iran's lawful right. It added that Iranian forces will use all available means to counter the "criminal aggression and repel the enemy's maliciousness."

The statement urged the United Nations and its Security Council to act immediately to address the threat to international peace and security posed by the attacks, and called on all UN member states to condemn the strikes and take collective measures against them.

On Saturday morning, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities.