Iran says U.S. must be held accountable for role in Israel's June strikes

TEHRAN, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Friday the United States must be held accountable for its "direct involvement" in Israeli airstrikes on Iran in June.

In a post on X, Baghaei responded to remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who on Thursday said he was "very much in charge of" Israel's initial attack on Iran, which contradicted Washington's earlier claims that Israel acted alone.

"Israel attacked first. That attack was very, very powerful. I was very much in charge of that," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Baghaei cited comments by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on June 13, when Rubio denied U.S. involvement in the strikes and called them a "unilateral" Israeli action. Baghaei said that statement was "an outright lie."

"From the very beginning, it was clear that the United States was a full participant in Israel's crime of aggression against the nation of Iran," he said, calling for Washington to be held responsible for "this flagrant violation and atrocious wrong."

Israel launched large-scale airstrikes on June 13 targeting several sites in Iran, including nuclear and military facilities, killing senior commanders, scientists and civilians, according to Iranian officials. Iran retaliated with waves of missile and drone attacks on Israel.

U.S. forces later struck Iran's nuclear sites at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan on June 22, before a cease-fire between Iran and Israel took effect on June 24 after 12 days of fighting. ■