Tehran: Iran warns its southern neighbours to immediately prevent the US from using their territory for attacks on Iranian soil, saying its retaliatory strikes on the US bases are lawful self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, in a statement released on Thursday, Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the "colonial and arrogant" U.S. policy of violating state sovereignty by stationing military bases and forces on foreign territory. It stated that countries, particularly Iran's southern neighbours, bear a clear responsibility to stop Washington from using their land, waters, and airspace to prepare and launch attacks against the Islamic Republic.

The ministry emphasized that Iran's defensive strikes against military bases, facilities, and assets used for aggression against Iran are in accordance with Iran's legal and inherent right to self-defence under international law and Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

Furthermore, it called on the neighbouring countries of the southern Persian Gulf to "immediately prevent the aggressors from using their facilities and territorial, maritime, and airspace domains for aggression against Iran, in order to halt the continuation and spread of the flames of war in the region." The ministry warned against allowing a "sinister American-Zionist plot to create enmity and mistrust among the countries of the region" to succeed.

The ministry stressed that Iran "has no hostility or enmity toward any of its neighbours or the countries of the region" and expressed a firm belief that the only path to lasting security is "understanding and cooperation among the countries of the region, free from the military presence and destructive and malevolent interventions of America."