Iran strongly 'condemns' Israeli strikes, insists its right to self defense

Iran responded early Saturday to Israel's overnight precision strikes, asserting its "inherent right of self-defense."

The Iranian foreign ministry, in a statement, condemned the attack "in the strongest terms," claiming the retaliatory strikes were a “blatant violation of international law and the United Nations Charter."

The ministry pointed to the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israel's regional conflict with Lebanon and "comprehensive military and political support" from the West as "the main cause of tension and insecurity in the region."

"The Islamic Republic of Iran also stresses the necessity for immediate and urgent mobilization of the global community to stop the Israeli regime's genocide, war, and aggression against Gaza and Lebanon, and to rein in the regime's warmongering," it concluded.

Israel’s overnight strike came weeks after Iran launched a barrage of missiles toward Tel Aviv earlier this month. The Iranian strikes followed a nearly yearlong conflict between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, including the deaths of senior leadership, and fighting in the Gaza Strip. Both sides traded cross-border strikes, including Hezbollah in support of its fellow proxy Hamas and Israel to clear the way for displaced settlers to return to the border area.

There had been heavy speculation on how and when Israel's response to the missile strikes would occur, including questions around whether oil and nuclear facilities should be targets.

While the U.S. was notified in advance of the strikes, senior defense officials told reporters that Washington was not involved in the decision-making process.

Israel’s plan to attack Iran was reportedly leaked on Telegram earlier this year, an apparent breach of U.S. intelligence that has pushed the Biden administration to look into whether it was hacked or leaked from the inside.

Screenshots of the documents had described Israel's outline of how to strike Iran, including what munition and aircraft it could utilize.

The latest strikes come as the war in Gaza surpassed its one-year mark earlier this month. The ongoing conflict was started on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas's attack on Israel left more than 1,200 people dead and over 250 were taken captive.

In response, Israel launched a counteroffensive that has since left over 42,000 Palestinians dead, according to local officials. That tally does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.