Countries that allow US to attack Iran will be 'legitimate target': Khamenei aide

TEHRAN

A senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has warned that any country in the region that allows the U.S. to use its territory against Iran will be considered a legitimate target by Iranian armed forces.

Ali Akbar Velayati, former foreign minister and currently a senior aide to Ayatollah Khamenei, in his remarks published by the state-run IRNA agency on June 22, condemned U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities as a “clear violation of international law.”

He said the attack grants Iran a “right to legitimate response,” hinting at the possibility of Iranian armed forces targeting U.S. military bases in the West Asia region.

The former diplomat said the global order is undergoing change, particularly in the highly volatile West Asia region, with the balance of power shifting.

He said U.S. President Donald Trump has proven that he acts recklessly on the international stage in ways that contradict American interests.

He hastened to add that West Asia is not Greenland and the Strait of Hormuz is fundamentally different from the Panama Canal, in a veiled hint that Iran might be considering the option of closing the Strait of Hormuz in response to the U.S. attacks.

The attacks took place early on June 22, and Trump claimed responsibility himself.

Velayati said the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Countries that met in Istanbul issued strong and unified condemnations of Israel and the U.S., calling the solidarity “unprecedented” and reflecting the stance of Arab and Muslim nations against the U.S. and Israel.

“Now that the United States has initiated war, it must understand that it will not dictate how it ends. The Islamic Republic of Iran will have the final say,” he said, adding that there is “no longer any place for the US or its military bases in this region or the Islamic world.”