Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has taken to social media to castigate the US for its war of “aggression”, and to challenge Washington’s own narrative that its attacks on Iran were a case of “self-defence”.

In a post on social media, Baghaei highlights a US State Department document justifying the war, and which stated that: “The United States engaged in this conflict at the request of and in the collective self-defense of its Israeli ally, as well as in the exercise of the United States’ own inherent right of self-defense”.

“Self-defense’ against what?” Baghaei asks.

“Was there any ‘armed attack’ by Iran to justify ‘self defense’? Definitely not!”

“So this was absolutely NOT ‘self-defense’ — it was an act of AGGRESSION against the nation of Iran.”