Iran’s Foreign Ministry says strikes on Israel “self-defense”

In a statement released on Sunday, the ministry said Iran’s armed forces were “exercising the inherent right of self-defense stipulated in Article 5 of the United Nations Charter and in response to the repeated military aggressions of the Zionist regime and the martyrdom of the official military advisors of Iran who were working in this country [Syria] at the invitation of the Syrian government” and especially in response to the attack on Iran’s consulate in Syria on April 1.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s recourse to defensive measures in exercising the right to self-defense shows Iran’s responsible approach to regional and international peace and security at a time when the illegal and genocidal actions by the Zionist apartheid regime against the Palestinian nation and the regime’s repeated military aggression…” it added.

The ministry’s statement concluded: “If necessary, the Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to take more defensive measures to protect its legitimate interests against any aggressive military actions and illegal use of force.”

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced on Sunday its Aerospace Division struck specific targets inside Israel, using dozens of missiles and drones, in response to the Zionist regime’s terrorist attack of April 1 against the Islamic Republic’s diplomatic premises in the Syrian capital Damascus.