ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran's foreign ministry on Saturday said that the country will continue to exercise its “inherent right to self-defense” until “the aggression stops,” emphasizing that “Iran's defensive operations” should not be interpreted as hostility against regional countries.

Iran has responded to the US-Israeli attacks by launching ballistic missiles and drones toward US interests across the region, killing at least six US personnel, while also causing heavy material damage and additional casualties in the countries hosting the bases.

The foreign ministry said that Iran reserves its “inherent right to self-defense,” in responding to “this brutal military aggression,” adding that the country's armed forces are using “all their capabilities to confront this criminal aggression.”

“The exercise of Iran's inherent right to self-defense will continue until the aggression stops or the UN Security Council fulfills its duty in accordance with Article 39 of the UN Charter by identifying and introducing the aggressors and determining the responsibilities resulting from their aggression,” the statement asserted.

The ministry also emphasizing that “Iran's defensive operations against US military bases and facilities in the region should in no way be considered as hostility or enmity with regional countries.”

The Iranian operations have been widely condemned by regional states, despite Tehran repeatedly claiming the attacks are not targeting the countries, but rather the US bases and facilities hosted there, which Iran views as an extension of US territory.

“The countries of the region have certainly realized by now that US bases on their soil have not contributed to the security of the region, but are only used to support the Zionist child killers and American aggressors,” read a statement by the ministry.

The statement came hours after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran has decided not to attack neighboring countries and suspend the strikes “unless an attack on Iran originates from those countries,” apologizing to the neighboring countries that were subjected to the attacks.

So far, Iran and its proxies have targeted multiple countries amid the conflict, including Israel, Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Cyprus, Syria, Turkey, and Azerbaijan.

Echoing the same sentiment as the foreign ministry, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf also warned on Saturday that: "As long as the presence of US bases in the region continue, the countries will not enjoy peace."

“Iranian officials and people are united on this principle,” the parliament speaker added.