Araghchi Says U.S. Must End Attacks on Iran and Pay Reparations

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on the United States to end its attacks on Iran, provide assurances against their repetition and pay full reparations in a signed opinion article published on Friday, November 13. Writing from Tehran, he argued that U.S. and Israeli military action violated Iran’s sovereignty and the United Nations Charter’s prohibition on the use of force. Araghchi maintained that possible future threats could not justify preventive war and said the American attacks lacked Security Council authorization. He wrote: “Political or security considerations cannot, by themselves, relieve the United States of the legal consequences of its actions.” He also asserted that Iran retained a right to self-defense under Article 51 of the charter, subject to its conditions and limitations. The Iranian minister urged other countries to cooperate through lawful means and to withhold assistance that sustained what he described as unlawful conduct. On February 28, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel and the United States had launched a joint operation to remove an existential threat posed by Iran’s regime. Netanyahu said the regime must be prevented from obtaining nuclear weapons and described close cooperation with U.S. President Donald Trump.