Araghchi made the remarks in a speech delivered at the meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states in the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon-Ata on Friday.
He touched on several issues and developments in the region and beyond, especially the ongoing US–Israeli military adventurism in the West Asia region and their disregard for international law and agreements.
Referring to the two wars imposed on Iran since last year, Araghchi said the world witnessed repeated aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime, which responded to diplomacy not through negotiations but through military attacks.
The top diplomat noted that the two aggressive American and Israeli regimes, with their illegal and illegitimate attacks since June 2025, not only targeted the security of the Iranian nation, but also the credibility of the entire international legal system.
He said the Iranian nation experienced one of the most bitter and painful days in its history, when the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, as the highest political and religious authority of Iran, was martyred along with his family members while they were in his office.
Araghchi also highlighted the heinous crimes committed by the aggressors on the first days of war, with the bombing of a school in the city of Minab and massacring 168 students, school staff, and their family members, as well as hitting a stadium in the city of Lamerd in Fars Province with missiles, martyring young girls, who had aspired to be champions and shine in national and international arenas.
He taunted the international community for its silence on the U–Israeli aggression, cautioning that no country could be sure of not being the next victim of attacks on educational, medical, critical infrastructure, economic facilities, and even peaceful nuclear facilities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Most worrying of all, Araghchi continued, these aggressions took place in a situation where Iran had chosen the path of diplomacy and dialogue but was attacked in the midst of negotiations, which not only undermines trust in diplomacy but questions the credibility of peaceful mechanisms for resolving disputes.
He warned that the responsibility for such crimes committed by the US and the Zionist regime does not only lie with the direct perpetrators but also with the silence or ambivalent positions maintained by the rest of the world, in the face of such blatant violations of international law.
Referring to Iran’s stance, Araghchi said the country has repeatedly shown that it was neither in favor of a war, nor the initiator of it, but was forced to use military means to defend its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, within the framework of international law and in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Our principled policy has always been based on dialogue, diplomacy, good neighborliness and regional cooperation, he noted, adding that lasting peace will only be achieved when aggression, occupation, threats and double standards give way to mutual respect, impartial implementation of international law and genuine adherence to international obligations.
The top diplomat, once again, warned without naming a country or entity that any participation in the US aggression against Iran will be met with a defensive response, stressing that cooperation or assistance to aggressors will create international responsibility for the relevant parties, and thus Iran reserves its right to take all necessary measures within the framework of self-defense.
Referring to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding to end the war, he said the United States had once again shown its non-compliance with commitments by renewing attacks on civilian infrastructure such as transportation, drinking water facilities, fishing boats, local commercial vessels, meteorological centers and others, in a clear violation of international law and obligations.
He also condemned the US for jeopardizing the security of one of the world’s most important strategic waterways, the Strait of Hormuz, by re-imposing a naval blockade leading to the disruption in normal flow of shipping.
The experience of recent months has clearly shown that the security of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz can be guaranteed not through the presence and intervention of extra-regional forces, but through cooperation between regional countries, mutual respect and collective responsibility, he added.
On the Israeli violation in West Asia, Araghchi said the impunity of perpetrators of crimes in Lebanon and Palestine has jeopardized the credibility of the international legal system and multilateral mechanisms.
He described the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Gaza, the continued occupation, the killing of civilians, the widespread destruction of vital infrastructure, and the deprivation of the Palestinian people of their most basic needs as one of the deepest crises of human conscience.
Stressing the need for stability and security in Afghanistan, the Iranian foreign minister said the landlocked nation is of strategic importance to all countries in the region, adding that challenges require close, coordinated, and continuous cooperation within the framework of multilateral mechanisms, especially the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
He further called for using the SCO as a platform to strengthen independent economic cooperation, saying mutual trust, respect for common interests, and avoidance of confrontational approaches can play an effective role in creating sustainable stability, common development, and strengthening ties between nations.
According to him, one of the organization’s top priorities should be the transition from primarily political and security cooperation to a comprehensive economic, technological, and development-oriented partnership.
At the end, Araghchi expressed Iran’s readiness to develop transit, energy, and trade cooperation with SCO members, arguing that Iran, with its unique geopolitical location, is an important link connecting Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and open waters.