Iran's Foreign Ministry has accused Washington of violating last month's ceasefire memorandum of understanding (MoU), describing the US strikes carried out over the past 24 hours as a clear breach of the UN Charter.
The country has additionally warned neighbouring Gulf states against allowing their territory to be used for attacks against Iran.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei rejected characterisations of the fighting as a "military confrontation," arguing instead that it represented the continuation of an unprovoked act of aggression that Washington and Israel had initiated on 28th February.
In a statement issued on Monday, Baqaei noted that "only 25 days have passed since the ceasefire agreement ending the war."
Mr. Spokesperson,
— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) July 12, 2026
This is not a “military confrontation.” It is the continuation of a blatant and unprovoked act of aggression initiated on 28 February by the United States and Israel.
Iran does not “attack.” Iran's strikes on U.S. military bases and assets stationed in the… pic.twitter.com/KQVkc2DbZL
He said Washington had since violated almost every element of that understanding by striking Iranian transport infrastructure, commercial shipping, cargo vessels and aviation facilities, calling the assaults among the most serious war crimes committed in the conflict.
Baqaei further alleged that the US had used bases and facilities in countries along the Gulf's southern coast to stage its operations against Iran.
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"You should urge the countries in question to immediately cease allowing the United States to use their territories as launchpads for aggression against Iran," the statement, addressed to US said.
Further, he described Iran's strikes on US bases in the southern Persian Gulf as a "legitimate and lawful exercise of its inherent right to self-defense under international law."
Baqaei also flagged issue with the UN Secretary-General's recent statement on the escalation, accusing the world body of favouring Washington in its assessment. He separately insisted that references to the waterway use the term "Persian Gulf," citing UN directives from August 1994 and May 1999 that mandate the term in official UN texts.
The exchange comes amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation in the Gulf, with strikes and counterstrikes between US and Iranian forces intensifying just over three weeks after the two sides reached their ceasefire agreement.
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