‘Acting in self-defense’: Araghchi says strikes will continue against sites ‘used’ in attacks on Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Tehran would continue military strikes against sites allegedly used in attacks on Iran, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) fired missiles on Kuwait and Bahrain.

“Our Armed Forces are conducting self-defense strikes on sites the US is permitted to use to attack civilian shipping and violate the ceasefire,” Araghchi said in a post on X.

“Any hostile act will be met with an immediate, decisive response. What sanctions and war failed to achieve won’t be won with more war,” he added.

The remarks came in response to comments by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who praised the cooperation of Washington’s regional allies, including the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

“I think our allies in the region have been very cooperative — some, obviously, very aggressively cooperative, like the UAE, for example. Kuwait’s been fantastic in this part,” Rubio said.

Regional tensions have escalated since late February after the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, killing more than 3,000 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior military commanders and government officials.

Tehran, in retaliation, has targeted Israel and Gulf countries that host US bases and closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global shipping.

A Pakistan-brokered ceasefire took effect on April 8, and efforts to reach a broader agreement have continued since then.

The IRGC on Wednesday said it attacked a US base in Kuwait and the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, in retaliation for a US overnight attack on its communications tower on southern Qeshm Island.