The spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denounced the international community's silence on the ongoing US-Israeli aggression against Iran, stating such a conduct has ruined the global legal order and will jeopardize international peace.
"This is a vicious war imposed upon a civilization. History will judge you all: Those who are siding with aggressors, and all those who are clearly remaining silent vis-a-vis all this injustice," Esmaeil Baghaei wrote in an opinion editorial published on the website of the al-Jazeera television news network on Saturday.
"They will be viewed as complicit in these atrocities. Stay on the right side of the history and oppose this brutal and unjust war," Baghaei added.
Baghaei denounced such an approach as a betrayal of diplomacy, stating that the United States has no respect whatsoever for the rudiments of diplomacy.
"Knowing well about the vile intentions of the US and the apartheid Israeli regime, the Islamic Republic of Iran entered negotiations in order to resolve any ambiguities for the international community, prove the legitimate position of the Iranian nation, and expose the irrationality of any excuse for the aggression," he pointed out.
The Iranian diplomat stated that the unfolding developments explicitly show that the US does not believe in diplomacy at all, and is seeking to impose its will on other nations.
He said Iranians are an honorable and resilient nation, and at times proven that they do not capitulate to threats and foreign intervention.
"The centuries-old Iranian civilization is proof of the fact that Iranians have never surrendered to aggression and invasion," he said.
Baghaei underscored that Iran reserves a legal and legitimate right under Article 51 of the UN Charter to respond to the US-Israeli strikes.
He stated that Iranian Armed Forces will employ all its capabilities to confront the offensive.
Baghaei noted that Iranian forces will continue their operations as long as aggression persists.
"As a government that is acting in self-defense, Iran will determine its own necessary and proper measures in retaliation to the ongoing offensive," the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
Baghaei then called on the UN Secretary General Antonio Gueterres and the rotating president of the Security Council to honor their duties without any reservations, urging all UN member states, particularly regional states, Muslim countries, member states of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and all governments committed to the promotion of international peace and stability to censure the US-Israeli aggression, and adopt immediate and collective steps in response to the ongoing aggression.
"The ongoing aggressive moves and horrendous crimes are indicative of the unprecedented erosion of the international legal order. Silence and inaction in the face of such an unlawful behavior will not only embolden the US and Israeli regime, but will also inflict lasting and irreversible damage upon the fundamentals of the international legal system," Baghaei said.
The Iranian diplomat stated that the world is now standing at a critical juncture. It must decide whether it wants to be ruled under brutal bullying or wants to support the rule of law at the global stage against destruction.
"This will not be the last instance of illegal use of force of the international community fails to act decisively and responsibly," the spokesman concluded.