Iran condemns U.S. strikes on nuclear sites, declares "Red Line" crossed

Iran’s top diplomat on Sunday issued a stark condemnation of the United States following overnight military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, declaring that Washington had crossed a "very big red line" and would be held "fully responsible" for the consequences.

In the first public statements from a high-ranking Iranian official since the attacks, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that diplomacy is not currently an option. Speaking to journalists at a conference in Istanbul, he signaled a significant hardening of Tehran's stance amid a dramatic escalation of tensions.

"There is no red line that the U.S. has not crossed," Araghchi stated during the news conference. "And the last one and the most dangerous one was what happened only last night when they crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities."

Araghchi placed the blame for the incident and any subsequent fallout squarely on the American government. "The warmongering, a lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far reaching implications of its act of aggression," he said.

The foreign minister also shut the door on immediate diplomatic engagement to de-escalate the crisis. While acknowledging that the "door to diplomacy" should always be open in principle, he asserted, "this is not the case right now."

The statements from Istanbul provide the first official Iranian reaction to the overnight events. While Iran has directly blamed the United States, there has been no immediate comment from Washington regarding its alleged involvement in the strikes. The incident marks a perilous new phase in the long-simmering conflict between the two nations, raising international concerns about the potential for a wider regional war.

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