Iran’s foreign minister on Saturday used a series of urgent phone calls to Gulf counterparts to warn that Tehran would defend itself with full military force, as missiles were fired at countries hosting major United States bases across the Middle East.

The calls came after a wave of US strikes and were followed by reported Iranian attacks on sites linked to American deployments under the US Central Command.

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Regional capitals alerted as bases come under fire

According to Iran Times, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke by telephone with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq.

He said Iran would use all defensive and military capabilities to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, citing what he described as its inherent right to self-defence.

He stressed that international law bars participation in aggression against another state. Regional governments, he said, have a responsibility to prevent the United States and Israel from using their territory or facilities to carry out hostile operations against Iran.

Iran’s armed forces, he added, would treat the origin of any US or Israeli action — and any move aimed at countering Iran’s defensive measures — as legitimate targets. The conflict triggered by Washington and Israel, he said, was not aimed only at Iran but at the wider region.

Araghchi names Israeli and US leaders in war claims

Iran’s foreign minister has directly named Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump in a sharp escalation of rhetoric, accusing them of launching what he described as an unprovoked and illegal war on Iran.

In posts on X, Abbas Araghchi said the conflict driven by the Israeli prime minister and the US president was wholly illegitimate. He argued that Trump’s “America First” policy had, in his view, shifted to prioritising Israel, which he claimed ultimately harms American interests.

He said Iran’s armed forces were ready and would deliver what he called a decisive lesson to aggressors.

In a separate post, Araghchi shared an image of a damaged site in southern Iran. He identified the destroyed building as a primary school for girls and said it was hit in broad daylight while pupils were inside.

He claimed dozens of children were killed at that location alone.

The foreign minister said the attacks against the Iranian people would not go unanswered, signalling further escalation amid mounting regional tensions.