Araghchi tells UK, Cyprus and Bulgaria foreign ministers that bases made available to aggressors are legitimate targets

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi warned his counterparts in the United Kingdom, Cyprus and Bulgaria in telephone calls that placing a country's territory and facilities at the disposal of an attack on another country is itself an act of aggression under international law and the resolution defining aggression, and entitles the country attacked to resort to legitimate self defence. According to the Fars news agency, Araghchi made the remark on the evening of Friday 31 July 2026 (9 Mordad 1405) in a call with British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.

Araghchi described any cooperation with aggressors, including on the pretext of earlier defence agreements, as unacceptable. He had said earlier, on 24 July (2 Mordad) at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation foreign ministers' meeting in Kyrgyzstan, that Iran had not started and would not start any war, but reserved its right to take all necessary measures within the framework of legitimate self defence.

The calls followed confirmation by Andy Burnham, the new British prime minister, that the United States had used British military bases. Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, had said on Monday 27 July (5 Mordad) that Tehran knew the United States had used British military bases to support its operations against Iran.