Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that last month’s Israeli strikes on Iranian territory could have spiralled into “a widespread and uncontrollable war” in the Middle East had Tehran not mounted a military response. Speaking by video link to the Eurasian Economic Forum in Belarus on Friday, he said Iran’s counter-strike was carried out under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which recognises the right to self-defence. Israel launched a series of attacks on 13 June against Iranian military and nuclear sites, and the United States joined the campaign nine days later with air-raids on three nuclear facilities, according to Tehran. Iran retaliated with 22 waves of missile fire, including barrages on al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, before a truce took effect on 24 June, ending a 12-day conflict. Iran’s Health Ministry says 627 people were killed inside the country during the fighting. Pezeshkian accused Israel and the United States of gross violations of international law and of delivering an “irreparable blow” to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. He urged the UN Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency to abandon what he called a policy of appeasement toward Israel and to hold the attackers accountable for civilian casualties and damage to nuclear infrastructure. Turning to economic matters, the president reiterated Iran’s commitment to implementing a free-trade pact with the Eurasian Economic Union and called for an independent, anti-sanctions banking system to finance regional projects. Nonetheless, his remarks were dominated by the warning that any future attacks on Iran risk igniting a broader regional war.