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Threats and targeting
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Cholpon-Ata that any country that participates in US aggression against Iran or assists in striking the Islamic Republic will become a legitimate target for Iranian armed forces.
“Any country that participates in US aggression against Iran or assists in striking the Islamic Republic will become a legitimate target for Iranian armed forces, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Cholpon-Ata”
Araghchi said, as quoted by the Telegram channel of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, that Iran “reserves the right to take all necessary measures within the framework of self-defense” and will consider any party that participated in the aggression as a legitimate target for the armed forces.
In his remarks, Araghchi framed the issue as a challenge to the international legal order, saying the world again witnessed repeated military aggression against Iran between February and April 2026.
He also described February 28, 2026 as “one of the darkest and most painful days in its history,” saying the Leader of the Islamic Revolution was martyred alongside members of his family while present at his office.
Araghchi added that on the same day a school in the city of Minab came under attack, where 168 students, school staff, and their family members were massacred in a criminal act.
SCO condemnation and silence
Araghchi warned that “aggression to replace diplomacy, force to replace law, and double standards to replace justice” and called on SCO member states not to allow military aggression to displace diplomacy.
IRNA reported that Araghchi said foreign ministers meeting in the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon-Ata that silence on illegitimate attacks or hesitant stance by world countries would only encourage the aggressors to repeat their crimes.
Mehr News Agency said Araghchi told reporters that his meetings with foreign counterparts revealed broad consensus on condemning the US actions against Iran, and that all SCO countries had clearly condemned Washington’s unilateral and unlawful actions.
Mizan’s correspondent reported Esmaeil Baghaei saying the communiqué makes explicit reference to the leaders’ previous statement and reinforces the SCO’s position in condemning the United States’ military actions against Iran as a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, fundamental principles, and international law.
Baghaei also stressed that, for Iran, “perhaps more than any other issue, the leaders’ stance in condemning military aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran is important.”
Crimes cited and next steps
Araghchi described attacks on educational and civilian sites as part of the pattern of aggression, saying a sports stadium in Lamerd, Fars Province, was attacked and that young women engaged in sporting activities were “brutally slaughtered.”
He said the attacks occurred while Iran had chosen the path of diplomacy and dialogue, with negotiations underway to resolve existing differences, and he argued that diplomacy was answered not through negotiations but through military attack.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters that Iran has not started any war and will not start one, while also describing the current situation as overt military aggression by the United States that is a continuation of aggression that began in Khordad of last year.
Baghaei said the communiqué covers a “very broad range of topics” and emphasized that the leaders’ stance in condemning military aggression against Iran shows both the SCO’s concern and that of its major member states about developments in the West Asia region.
Jam Jam Online reported Ismail Baghaei said the final statement included condemnation of U.S. military aggression against Iran, describing it as a clear violation of the UN Charter and the fundamental principles of international law.
