US And Israel Crossed A ‘Big Red Line’ – Iran’s Foreign Minister

Iran has charged the United States and Israel with breaching a crucial boundary after synchronized military attacks on its nuclear sites, with Tehran pledging to protect itself against what it labeled as hostile acts.

Addressing the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Istanbul on Sunday, June 22, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared that the recent assaults represented a significant escalation. “They crossed a very big red line by attacking [Iran’s] nuclear facilities,” he said.

The remarks followed former US President Donald Trump’s confirmation that American warplanes had struck three Iranian nuclear locations. These attacks came after nine days of Israeli air operations targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, including the subterranean uranium enrichment site at Fordow.

“The most dangerous one happened only last night,” Araghchi said, acknowledging that the full scope of the damage remained unclear. “I still do not have exact information about the level of damages, but I don’t think it matters… Last night’s attack was a grave crime.”

He accused the United States of jeopardizing global stability. “Through this action, the United States has dealt a serious blow to international peace and security,” Araghchi said, emphasizing that Iran would respond “by all means necessary” to safeguard itself.

In response to the intensifying situation, Araghchi revealed he was traveling to Moscow for discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I’m going to Moscow this afternoon to hold serious consultations with the Russian president tomorrow,” he stated.

Trump, after the strikes, urged Iran to agree to halt the conflict. However, Araghchi rejected the notion of resuming talks as “irrelevant,” asserting that the diplomatic process had been undermined by US backing of Israel.

“The world must not forget that it was the United States which in the midst of a process to forge a diplomatic outcome, betrayed diplomacy by supporting the genocidal Israeli regime’s launch of an illegal war of aggression on the Iranian nation,” he said.

“So we were in diplomacy, but we were attacked… They have proved that they are not men of diplomacy, and they only understand the language of threat and force.”

Turkey, hosting the OIC summit, also cautioned that the strikes risked sparking a broader global conflict. “The ongoing developments could cause the regional conflict to escalate to a global level. We do not want this catastrophic scenario to come to life,” Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

As global concern rises, demands for restraint and a return to diplomatic efforts are increasing, but the path forward remains deeply uncertain.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli