"The Israeli regime's unlawful attack against Iran was an act of aggression in violation of Article 2(4) if the UN Charter. These unlawful attacks killed and injured more than 6000 innocent people and damaged our infrastructures, residential areas and nuclear facilities. But worse than that, this aggression was a lethal blow to diplomacy and rule of law, and to NPT regime. The U.S./Israeli attacks on our nuclear facilities were in stark violation of NPT and the UNSR resolution 2231 that has endorsed Iran's peaceful nuclear program in 2015 by consensus. It must be recalled that Iran's nuclear program has been absolutely peaceful and under the most robust IAEA's surveillance," the top Iranian diplomat Abbas Araghchi said in his address to the 17th BRICS Summit on Sunday July 6 2025, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil which was entitled"Peace and Security and Global Governance Reform."
"What Israeli regime, and subsequently the United States, committed were no less than an unprecedented breach of international peace. The fact that a developing non-nuclear weapon State, has been attacked by two nuclear armed regimes with the support of at least two more nuclear armed States that are also oermanent members of UNSC, is only appalling and extremely consequential. No rule of law or logic allows any one to target the IAEA -monitored peaceful nuclear facilities of another State simply out of speculation that the facilities may sometimes be used for weaponization. Indeed attacking such facilities are absolutely banned under international law, including IAEA resolution 533 and UNSC resolution 487," Araghchi continued.
"My people stayed steadfast and resolved in defense of our homeland against these blatant acts of aggression and the aggressors had to cease their criminal attacks following the heroic resistance of our strong armed forces. We will definitely continue to defend with all force against any future aggressions. But this is not over as long as the Israeli regime's lawless behaviour is supported and justified by its backers and apologists. It is a shame that the international community has been unable to do anything meaningful to end the genocide of Palestinians for the past 2 years and stop Israel from occupying Arab lands in its vicinity. In fact, Israel's act of aggression against Iran came as the result of absolute impunity it is granted by the U.S. and some other European States to commit every atrocity in our region," he continued, according to a readout of his speech published on the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affaris' Tlelegram channel.
"We are determined to document Israel's war crimes and crimes against humanity it committed during its aggression against my country. Israel and the United States must be held accountable for their violations of international law, including human rights and humanitarian law," he continued to highlight in another part of his speech.
"The world, every State, every UN mechanism and every multilateral arrangements and groupings have to be alarmed and have to act now to end impunity, and to hold the criminals accountable for their unending atrocities and grave violations of international law in our region," the Iranian minister also said elsewhere in his speech.
"As a recognized voice of the Global South, BRICS shall fulfill its role as a staunch defender of international law and multilateralism, in support of the United Nations' fundamental principles of sovereign equality of all nations, non-use of force and peaceful settlement of disputes," he concluded.
