Iran announced that it will respond to Israel's large-scale retaliatory airstrikes at an "appropriate time."
According to major foreign media reports on the 26th (local time), Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister, said in a phone call with the foreign ministers of Egypt and Qatar, "Iran will not hesitate to respond firmly and proportionally to violations of its territorial integrity. All responses will be made at an appropriate time," indicating that it would not threaten immediate retaliation.
The Iranian Armed Forces General Staff stated, "Iran has the legal and legitimate right to respond to aggression at an appropriate time," and added, "A sustainable ceasefire must be achieved in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon to prevent the innocent deaths of the oppressed."
Earlier, Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel's attack targeting military bases within its territory in the early morning as "a clear violation of international law and the UN Charter," and declared, "We have the right and duty to defend ourselves against foreign aggression."
On the 27th, Minister Araghchi sent a letter to the UN Security Council and UN Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres, urging, "We ask the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council to take a firm stance and strongly and clearly condemn Israel's acts of aggression," and requested "an emergency meeting convened by the Security Council President to hold this criminal regime (Israel) accountable."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a statement in the early morning of the 26th, announcing that they had precisely struck Iranian military facilities in three waves, and also released videos and photos showing F-15 and F-16 fighter jets preparing for the airstrikes against Iran. It was reported that the Israeli military deployed more than 100 drones and fighter jets to strike about 20 military sites within Iran. The Iranian military reported that four of its soldiers were killed due to the Israeli airstrikes.
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