Iran's foreign ministry calls US Larak strike a Charter violation, appeals to UN

Iran's foreign ministry has condemned the US strike on Larak Island as a violation of the UN Charter and called on the Security Council and secretary general to hold Washington to account, in a statement on August 31.

The statement casts Iran's missile retaliation against US bases in Jordan as lawful self-defence and seeks to shift the diplomatic blame for insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz onto the United States and Israel, as the six-month war moves back towards open confrontation after a month-long lull.

The ministry said the US military had attacked parts of Larak Island on the evening of August 30, killing and wounding several defenders and civilians and damaging public and private property.

In response, and under the inherent right of self-defence, Iran's armed forces had struck the US bases in Jordan that it said were the origin and support of the attack.

It described the strike as a clear breach of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which bars the use of force against the territorial integrity of states, and said the Security Council and secretary general bore responsibility for preserving international peace and holding the aggressor to account.

The ministry told the UN and the states that have voiced concern over insecurity in the Gulf and the strait that the sole cause of the danger to shipping was what it called the illegal and aggressive actions of the United States and Israel, which began with the attack on Iran on February 28 and had continued through a naval blockade and other measures.

It said Iran's forces would not hesitate to exercise self-defence and would respond firmly to any military aggression.

The statement followed a US strike that CENTCOM said hit two rocket launchers on Larak Island as Revolutionary Guard forces prepared to fire rockets carrying sea mines into the strait, an account Washington framed as protecting freedom of navigation.

Iran responded with ballistic missiles against the King Hussein and Al-Azraq bases in Jordan, where the army said it intercepted eight missiles, and said it had also targeted the Al-Dhafra base in the UAE with drones.

The exchange broke a month-long pause in direct fighting and threatened diplomacy around the strait, where Iran and Oman have been discussing an arrangement to restore maritime traffic.

The waterway has been effectively shut since the war began, with commercial transits down to a fraction of pre-war levels and, according to the International Maritime Organization, around 400 vessels and some 6,000 seafarers left stranded in the Gulf.

A US naval blockade imposed in April has cut Iranian crude exports by more than 80% and cost Tehran billions in lost oil revenue, pressure the Trump administration is betting will force concessions, with Iran claiming exports were down around 30% in recent weeks, according to some local accounts.