As conflict with the United States and Israel widens after the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is targeting US military bases in the Gulf region and not neighbouring countries.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s strikes were focused on American assets supporting operations against Iran. “We are not attacking our brotherly countries in the Persian Gulf, but our operations are against American targets,” he said. “It is quite clear that the American military bases are the targets of our attacks.”
The Minister commented after UAE President, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, slammed Iran for targeting several parts of the country with its missiles.
Not just the UAE, explosions were reported across several Gulf countries after Iran launched missiles in response to US and Israeli strikes. Loud blasts were heard in Dubai and in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Oman was also struck for the first time as the conflict spread in the Middle East.
IRAN TARGETING US BASES IN REGION
He said Iran cannot strike US territory directly and is therefore targeting regional bases and facilities linked to American operations. “The US military is attacking and we have no way but to defend ourselves,” he said. “Of course we cannot hit any target in the territory of the US so we have to deal with their bases in the region and the facilities or installations they use in countries in the region.”
Abbas Araghchi added that Iran was trying to limit attacks to military objectives. “We have started by attacking their military bases; they have evacuated the military bases and they have gone to the hotels and have made human shields for themselves so we are trying actually to target only military personnel and the facilities that are helping the US military in their operation against Iran,” he said.
IRAN CALLS WAR ‘IMPOSED’, VOWS TO FIGHT ON
“I wish that they understand what is going on in the region is not our fault, it’s not our choice. This is a war imposed on by the US and Israel, so if they are angry, they should be angry at Israel and the United States.”
“They should not pressure us to stop this war, they should pressure the other side,” he added.
The Minister said Iran would keep resisting as long as attacks continued, arguing the United States and Israel could not achieve their objectives and would gain no benefit from the war.
He called the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes as unlawful and destabilising, saying the assassination of a country’s leader by foreign forces was unprecedented and would make the conflict more dangerous and complex.
With inputs from agencies
