Iran warns Gulf states hosting U.S. bases of “legitimate” retaliation

KEY POINTS

• Iran’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Mahdavi Raja, warned that Gulf nations hosting U.S. military bases could face retaliation if those facilities are used for attacks on Iranian soil.
• Tehran is invoking Article 51 of the UN Charter, claiming a right to self-defense following a massive U.S.-Israeli military campaign that began on February 28.
• Ambassador Raja emphasized that while Iran respects its neighbors, any base used for operations against its territory becomes a “legitimate military target.”
• The warning specifically mentioned countries including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, which host significant American military assets.

MAIN STORY

At a high-stakes press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Iran’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Mahdavi Raja, delivered a stern warning to Middle Eastern nations currently hosting United States military forces. The envoy stated that Tehran would no longer differentiate between the “aggressor” and the “host” if foreign military facilities are utilized to launch operations against Iranian territory. Raja categorized such installations as part of the active “military equation” in the ongoing conflict.

Ambassador Raja maintained that Iran’s current missile and drone responses are “defensive and lawful,” strictly targeting military infrastructure while sparing civilian areas in neighboring countries. He described the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes—codenamed Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion—as unprovoked violations of international norms that occurred despite ongoing diplomatic channels. According to Raja, the escalation has fundamentally undermined the trust required for any future negotiations.

The envoy’s remarks follow reports of widespread Iranian strikes targeting U.S. assets across the Gulf region between March 3 and March 5. These include reported hits on the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar and uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks near U.S. diplomatic missions in Riyadh and Dubai. Raja urged the United Nations and the international community to condemn the “deliberate military aggression” of the U.S. and Israel to prevent a further unraveling of regional stability and global order.

WHAT’S BEING SAID

• “From those bases now they are doing military operations against our country… So this is our legitimate right, to defend ourselves and to attack those bases,” stated Ambassador Mahdavi Raja.
• “Our actions are defensive and lawful, focused on military targets only.”
• “Targeting children in a school is not a wartime accident; it is an unmistakable war crime,” Raja added, referring to reported civilian casualties in Minab.

WHAT’S NEXT

• Diplomatic pressure on Gulf Arab states is expected to mount as they balance their security partnerships with the U.S. against the threat of direct Iranian strikes.
• The United Nations Security Council may convene for an emergency session to address the widening regionalization of the conflict.
• International oil markets are bracing for potential volatility if Iranian threats to energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the UAE materialize further.

BOTTOM LINE

The Bottom Line is that Iran is attempting to isolate the U.S. and Israel by holding their regional hosts accountable for any strikes launched from Gulf soil. By invoking self-defense under the UN Charter, Tehran is signaling that the conflict is no longer a bilateral affair but a regional war involving any nation providing a platform for “aggression.”