BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 9. Iran strongly
condemns the U.S. airstrikes on various areas of Iran carried out
last night.


This is stated in a statement by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.


“The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemns last
night’s U.S. strike on several targets in southern Iran in the
coastal provinces and on two bridges on the Mashhad railway line in
the country’s eastern provinces, and declares that Iran is firmly
committed to defending its territorial integrity, sovereignty, and
security,” the statement reads.


The statement also notes that over the past 48 hours, the US has
carried out strikes against Iran based on incidents related to the
illegal passage of a vessel through the Strait of Hormuz on July 7,
and that these attacks constitute a clear violation of Article 2,
paragraph 4, of the UN Charter, as well as Articles 1 and 5 of the
Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding on the Cessation of
Hostilities.


The statement notes that the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
expressed condolences for the deaths of a group of sailors as a
result of U.S. attacks over the past 48 hours and emphasized that
Iran is determined to defend itself.


Meanwhile, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced today that
CENTCOM forces carried out an additional strike against Iran in the
Strait of Hormuz to further undermine Iran’s ability to attack
merchant ships and innocent civilian sailors. U.S. forces struck
approximately 90 Iranian military targets.







Iran also claimed to have fired upon U.S. military facilities in
Bahrain and Kuwait.


Meanwhile, as no tangible progress was made in the nuclear
negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, the situation escalated on
February 28, when the United States and Israel launched military
airstrikes against Iran. In retaliation, Iran initiated missile and
drone strikes targeting Israeli and U.S. installations in the
region. Following these developments, a two-week ceasefire
agreement was brokered on April 7 through Pakistan's mediation.


A peace memorandum was signed between Iran and the U.S. on June
18. The memorandum was signed by Iranian President Masoud
Pezeshkian and U.S. President Donald Trump. The memorandum came
into effect on June 19.


On June 21, the first round of talks between Iran and the U.S.
took place in Switzerland, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar.