Iran Condemns US-Led Missile Attacks on Syria

“The aggression is in blatant violation of the international rules and regulations and ignores Syria’s rights to national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

“Undoubtedly, the US and its allies, which took military action against Syria despite the absence of any proven evidence and before any final statement by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)…, will be held accountable for the regional and trans-regional consequences of this adventurism,” it noted.

“Iran is opposed to the use of chemical weapons on the basis of religious, legal and ethical standards, while at the same time it ... strongly condemns (using this) as an excuse to commit aggression against a sovereign state,” the statement said.

The United States and European allies launched airstrikes on Saturday against Syrian research, storage and military targets under the pretext of a suspected chemical attack near Damascus last weekend that killed more than 40 people.

Britain and France joined the United States in the strikes in a coordinated operation that was intended to show Western resolve in the face of what the leaders of the three nations called persistent violations of international law.

Trump characterized it as the beginning of a sustained effort to force Assad to “stop using banned weapons”, but only ordered a limited, one-night operation that hit three targets, New York Times reported.

“These are not the actions of a man,” Trump said of last weekend’s attack in a televised address from the White House Diplomatic Room. “They are crimes of a monster instead.”

Shortly after the attack, the Syrian presidency posted on Twitter, “Honorable souls cannot be humiliated.”

Within 90 minutes, the Russian ambassador to the US warned of “consequences” for the allied attacks.