By Shakir Husain
NEW DELHI, Jan 16 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Iran has asserted that its attack on a United States military base in Iraq was an act of self-defence in response to the assassination of Iranian top commander Qassem Soleimani.
“We took action in self-defence under Article 51 of (the United Nations) Charter,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the annual Raisina Dialogue conference in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The US killing of Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in Baghdad on Jan 3 was “an unprovoked attack using Iraqi territory against an Iraqi guest,” Zarif said.
In retaliation, Iran launched a missile attack on Jan 8 against two military bases in Iraq including the Ain Al Asad base housing American forces.
Zarif said Iran sent a message to the US via the Swiss diplomatic channel that it was an act of self-defence.
The Iranian foreign minister said his country still believes in diplomacy but does not want to negotiate with the US because of US President Donald Trump’s 2018 withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
–NNN-BERNAMA
