The correspondence, sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, consists of three separate letters dated Monday, responding to complaints from Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain regarding these retaliatory actions.
Iran's UN ambassador Saeed Iravani stated that the unprovoked aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran necessitated such retaliation. He emphasized that this aggression violates the fundamental principle of the prohibition of aggression, Press TV reported.
In the letters, Iravani highlighted the "cowardly" assassination of late Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei alongside other senior Iranian officials, alongside simultaneous attacks on civilian infrastructure.
He detailed that these assaults have targeted various civilian sites, including schools, hospitals, sports facilities, residential homes, and public service centers.
According to Iravani, these attacks have resulted in the deaths of over 1,300 civilians and the destruction of 9,669 civilian properties. This includes 7,943 residential homes, 1,617 commercial and service establishments, 35 hospitals and medical centers, nine Red Crescent facilities, and 63 schools.
The ambassador pointed out that certain third countries, namely Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, have allowed their territories to be used for these unlawful military operations.
In his letters, he invoked the principle of "sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas," which prohibits states from permitting their territories to be used in a manner that harms others. He also referenced Article 3(f) of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3314 (1974), which defines a state's allowance of its territory for acts of aggression by another state as an act of aggression itself.
Iravani stressed that the actions of these Persian Gulf states in facilitating American attacks on Iranian soil carry international legal implications. He asserted that Iran's counterstrikes were executed in accordance with its right to self-defense.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran, in exercising its inherent right under Article 51 of the UN Charter to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, has conducted necessary and proportionate defensive operations against the bases and facilities of aggressors in the region," the letters state. He added that these measures are lawful under international law and have been clearly communicated in advance through various channels.
Despite these tensions, Iravani affirmed that Iran remains committed to fostering normal relations with neighboring countries. He expressed Tehran's desire for such relationships to be founded on mutual respect, good-neighborliness, and acknowledgment of each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He concluded that Iran's counteroffensive actions against American interests do not infringe upon the sovereignty or territorial integrity of the states hosting those interests.