The Iranians are responding to the US strikes on their nuclear facilities with threats and bombast — with the foreign minister warning that the attack will have “everlasing consequences” for the US.
“The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT by attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations,” Abbas Araghchi wrote on X.
“The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior,” he continued.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks to the media at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 21, 2025. ERDEM SAHIN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A satellite image of the Isfahan nuclear enrichment facility in central Iran — one of the three struck by the US bombings. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies/AFP via Getty Images
“In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that the US should expect a response to its attacks, calling any retaliation by Iran “legitimate self-defense” in a statement on Sunday.
“The bases and locations used by the forces that carried out the attacks have been identified,” the IRGC’s statement continued, threatening to strike US military bases in the Middle East.
The US bases were “a point of weakness that increases the enemy’s vulnerability,” the statement read.
Map of Iran showing locations of nuclear facilities, including an inset of the Fordow nuclear facility. Tam Nguyen / / NYPost DesignIran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has not yet issued a response following the attack.
However, one of his aides, Ali Shamkhani, warned that the “game is not over” for Iran’s nuclear program.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly told French President Emmanuel Macron during a call that, “The Americans must receive a response to their aggression.”
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The country’s parliament has voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, the critical chokepoint in the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s global daily oil supply flows.
Iran has also carried out further air strikes on Israel in the wake of the US attacks.
Dozens were injured after two volleys of ballistic missiles hit targets across the country on Sunday.
A residential building in Tel Aviv was struck directly by an Iranian strike as residents were forced to evacuate, some still in their pajamas, the Washington Post reported.
Iran’s allies, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, have said they will join Iran in retaliation against the US strikes.
However, the Trump administration had a stark warning for anyone in the Iranian regime planning retaliation against the US: don’t try it.
“If they retaliate, it will be the worst mistake they’ve ever made,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday. “Look, we can fly in and out of Iran at will. We went in last night. The president sent our military forces from halfway across the world, went in, conducted this operation, left and not a shot was fired against us.”
