Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the following statement published by The Cradle on Oct. 1, 2024:
Earlier this evening, we exercised self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, targeting solely military and security sites in charge of genocide in Gaza and Lebanon. We did so after exercising tremendous restraint for almost two months, to give room for a ceasefire in Gaza. Our action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation. In that scenario, our response will be stronger and more powerful. Israel’s enablers now have a heightened responsibility to rein in the warmongers in Tel Aviv instead of partaking in their folly.
Celebration in Tehran on April 14, 2024, following Iran firing missiles on Israel
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued the following statement on Resistance News Network on Oct. 1, 2024:
We will indeed exact retribution from the criminals.” To the great Islamic Ummah, the noble and martyr-nurturing people of Iran:
Moments ago, after a period of restraint in the face of the violation of the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran through the assassination of the martyred fighter, Dr. Ismail Haniyeh, by the Zionist regime, and in accordance with the country’s right to legitimate self-defense under the United Nations Charter, as well as in response to the regime’s escalating wickedness—backed by the U.S.—in massacring people in Lebanon and Gaza; the martyrdom of the great fighter, the leader of the Axis of Resistance, the honorable Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah; the martyrdom of the brave commander and senior advisor of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Lebanon, Major General Haj Abbas Nilforoushan, the Aerospace Force of the IRGC has targeted important military-security objectives in the heart of the occupied territories with the launch of dozens of ballistic missiles.
It should be noted that this operation was carried out with the approval of the Supreme National Security Council, the directive of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, and with the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army and Ministry of Defense.
A warning is hereby issued: should the Zionist regime respond militarily to this operation, which is in accordance with the country’s legal rights and international law, it will face further crushing and destructive attacks.
The statements have been lightly edited.