US’ Regional Bases to Get Hit If They Aid Israel, Iran Warns
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian foreign minister said the regional countries hosting American military bases have been given a warning that if their airspace or territories are used by the US for supporting the Israeli regime in any action against Iran, those bases will be inevitably targeted by Iran.
In a meeting with the foreign ambassadors to Tehran, held at the Foreign Ministry on Sunday, Hossein Amirabdollahian expounded on the punitive mission “Operation True Promise” that Iran carried out in the wee hours of Sunday in retaliation for the Israeli airstrike on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1.
He said the friends of Iran in the regional countries had been informed around 72 hours in advance of the operation that Iran will definitely give a response to Israel in accordance with its legitimate right to self-defense.
Highlighting the significance that Iran attaches to the security of the region, the foreign minister said, “We notified our brothers and friends in the regional countries, where the United States has military bases, that our purpose of legitimate defense is merely punishment for the Israeli regime.”
Amirabdollahian noted that Iran does not seek to target American bases or forces across the region, adding, “We emphasized that we have never welcomed the escalation of tension in the region.”
The foreign minister then stated that Iran has warned the countries hosting the American bases that if their airspace or soil is used by the US to defend or provide support for the Zionist regime, the American military bases in those states will inevitably get hit.
Taking a swipe at the US, the UK and France for their opposition to any statement by the UN Security Council in condemnation of the Israeli fatal strike on Iran’s embassy in Damascus, Amirabdollahian said such behavior encouraged the Israeli prime minister to cross the red lines and ignore the international law.
He noted that the Iranian Armed Forces waited for at least 10 days for the results of the Foreign Ministry’s diplomatic efforts at the international level.
Hailing the Iranian forces for their coordinated response against military targets inside the occupied territories, the foreign minister stressed that Iran’s operation was restricted. “We told the White House today that our operation was confined and aimed at punishing the (Zionist) regime.”
