Iran strongly condemned what it described as a US military strike near Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on Thursday, accusing Washington of repeatedly violating the ceasefire and threatening regional countries, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Thursday, reports Anadolu.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the US strike near Bandar Abbas, carried out in the early hours of Thursday, constituted a “violation flagrant” violation of international law and the UN Charter.

Baghaei said the UN Security Council is bound to fulfill its legal responsibility by holding the US accountable for what he described as aggression against Iran’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty.

He also accused Washington of continuing violations of the ceasefire that took effect on April 8, citing attacks on merchant ships in the region Gulf and international waters, as well as recent airstrikes in southern Iran.

Spokesman Baghaei stressed Iran’s determination to take “all necessary measures” to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Baghaei also condemned what he described as threatening rhetoric by US officials against Iran and several countries in the region, while expressed solidarity with Oman.

He said threats to “destroy” a UN member state such as Oman, which has played a constructive and responsible role in regional peace efforts and diplomatic mediation, represented a dangerous normalization of “lawlessness and harassment” in international relations.

Earlier on Thursday, a US official told Anadolu that US forces had shot down four Iranian drones near the Straits. of Hormuz and had struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was allegedly preparing to launch another drone.

The official described the US actions as “measured” and “purely defensive”, saying they were aimed at preserving the ceasefire.

In response to the US attack, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted a US airbase in Kuwait in retaliation for what it described as a US airstrike near Bandar Abbas Airport.

According to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, the IRGC said the retaliatory strike came hours after US airstrikes allegedly hit an area near the airport in the southern port city.

The latest tensions come amid ongoing efforts to reach a broader agreement after the war that broke out on 28 February, when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran, prompting retaliatory Iranian drone and missile strikes across the region and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

A cease-fire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, although negotiations in Islamabad failed to produce a permanent solution.

US President Donald Trump later extended the ceasefire indefinitely, while restrictions on ships bound for Iranian ports continued.

Source: prizrenpost