US, Israel must be held accountable for conflict they started: Iran

With the West Asia conflict disrupting global supply chains, a top Iranian official has said that Tehran is "not happy" about India and other countries facing its consequences and asserted that this was "caused" by the US and Israel.

In an interview to India Today, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei also said the US and Israel have to be "held accountable" by the international community for "what they started and are still continuing".

Asked if he saw any end to this conflict as countries like India are suffering because of its impact and choking of the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei said, "You have to see what happened on February 28. Before that, the Strait of Hormuz was open and free to every country."  "Iran was forced to take certain measures under international law, and I have to stress this: what Iran did is allowed under international law because we had to face aggressors, the United States and Israel, who were abusing the soil of other Persian Gulf states to attack Iran. That was absolutely unlawful. It was an act of aggression," he charged during the interview held in Tehran.

 

"So we had to fight back. We had to take measures in order to prevent these aggressors from abusing this water lane for conducting military aggression against Iran. It was not Iran's fault," he said.

The US has justified its attack on Iran claiming that Tehran's nuclear programme is a threat.

"We are not happy about what is happening in India and other countries, but this was caused by the United States and Israel. Iran depends on this strait more than many other countries because we are a coastal state. We want to see security and safety in this water lane," Baghaei said.

"But the problem is that the United States and Israel initiated this war of aggression and inflicted these consequences on the whole economy," Baghaei charged, adding "they have to be held accountable by the international community for what they started and are still continuing".