Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, on Sunday formally charged the United States and Israel with carrying out what he described as a “cowardly act of terror” aimed at the country’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
In correspondence sent to Antonio Guterres and members of the UN Security Council, Araghchi alleged that Washington and Tel Aviv intentionally targeted Khamenei on Feb. 28 through what he characterized as “unprovoked and unjustified acts of aggression” against Iran’s sovereignty.
“I am writing to bring to your urgent attention the latest outrageous and criminal act perpetrated against the great nation of Iran by the United States and the Israeli regime.
“Failure to respond decisively to such conduct will not only embolden its perpetrators but will also inflict lasting and irreparable damage on the foundations of the international legal order for decades to come,” Araghchi said in the letter.
The Iranian foreign minister described the alleged strike as a “grave and unprecedented breach” of international law.
He pointed specifically to Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which bars the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
According to the letter, Israel and the United States began conducting strikes against Iran on Saturday morning, operations Tehran says resulted in the death of the supreme leader along with several senior security officials.
In retaliation, Iran launched a wave of drone and missile attacks targeting Israeli and US assets across the region, a move that led several Gulf nations to close their airspace.
Araghchi’s message also cited Article 51 of the UN Charter, asserting what Iran called its “inherent and unequivocal right” to self-defense.
“In light of the foregoing, and at a time when the normalization of grave violations of international law regrettably threatens the integrity of the international system, the Islamic Republic of Iran solemnly calls upon the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Security Council to discharge their Charter-mandated responsibilities for the maintenance of international peace and security and take immediate, concrete, and effective measures to ensure the full accountability of the United States and the Israeli regime for the aforementioned atrocious terrorist act,” Araghchi said.
He further asked that the correspondence be formally circulated as an official document of the Security Council.
