Iranian strikes on US bases in Persian Gulf ‘legitimate self‑defense’: Araghchi
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran’s armed forces are conducting legitimate self‑defense strikes on sites in the Persian Gulf region used by the United States to attack civilian shipping and violate the ceasefire.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Araghchi cited remarks by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during an open congressional hearing acknowledging that the UAE and Kuwait worked extensively with Washington in the war on Iran.
“Our armed forces are conducting self‑defense strikes on sites the US is permitted to use to attack civilian shipping and violate the ceasefire," Araghchi said in his post.
“Any hostile act will be met with an immediate, decisive response. What sanctions and war failed to achieve won’t be won with more war.”
The IRGC targeted the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and a US air base in Kuwait following a US strike on an Iranian vessel and Qeshm Island.
Rubio’s comments, made before a congressional committee, once again confirmed that Persian Gulf states have played a significant role alongside the United States in the war.
“No, I think our allies in the region have been very cooperative, some obviously very aggressively cooperative, like the UAE as an example. Kuwait’s been fantastic,” Rubio said.
The admission came as Washington has maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports and used bases in Persian Gulf states to launch attacks on Iranian military and civilian infrastructure during the war of aggression that began on February 28.
Iran has repeatedly stated that it has the right under Article 51 of the UN Charter to defend itself against aggression.
Iran has targeted American military assets in the region, including facilities in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, which are used to launch attacks on Iran and to violate the fragile Pakistan‑brokered ceasefire in place since early April.
The US‑Israeli war of aggression on Iran began on February 28, 2026, with airstrikes that assassinated the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and targeted nuclear facilities, schools and hospitals.
Iran responded with 100 waves of retaliatory strikes under Operation True Promise 4.
A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April, but Washington’s naval blockade and use of Persian Gulf bases have continued to fuel tensions.
Iran has demanded a complete end to the war, the lifting of all sanctions and the withdrawal of US forces from the region as conditions for any final agreement.
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