TEHRAN -- Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday Israel carried out its latest act of aggression against Iran using the airspace of other regional countries in addition to Iraq.
“The presence of the U.S. military in the region is a reality and the Zionist fighter jets carried out the recent attack against Iran through the airspace opened up by the United States in the region,” Araghchi told reporters after a cabinet session.
Araghchi said Iran is following up on the complaint lodged by Iraq with the United Nations over Israel’s use of its airspace for conducting the attack.
Iran is also in contact with other regional countries whose airspace has been used to carry out the attack, he added.
On Saturday, Israeli warplanes used U.S.-controlled airspace over Iraq to attack military installations in Iran’s Tehran, Khuzestan, and Ilam provinces in flagrant breach of the country’s national sovereignty.
The Israeli aircraft used the space available to the U.S. military in Iraq to fire a number of missiles at Iran’s radars in Ilam and Khuzestan provinces as well as several others stationed on the outskirts of Tehran province. 
 Iran has said it is resolved to respond to the recent Israeli act of aggression against the country and will not abandon its right.
 A senior Iranian commander said Israeli, U.S., UK and French warplanes flew over Iraq for 25 consecutive days in preparation for the attack.
The Iraqi airspace was “at the disposal” of the Zionist regime and its supporters, including the U.S., Britain, France, and some littoral Persian Gulf Arab states for the aggression, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, deputy chief of the Iranian Army for Coordination, said. 
Hundreds of manned and unmanned warplanes, tanker aircraft, and electronic warfare aircraft flew across the Iraqi skies in preparation, he added.
“However, as a result of the readiness and alertness of our dear Air Defense and Air Force, a concerted operation took place that did not allow any of the enemy’s advanced aircraft to cross our borders,” he said.
Sayyari said the operation forced the hostile warplanes to fire ballistic missiles towards the Islamic Republic, while flying as far as 100 kilometers away from the country’s borders.
A large number of the projectiles were destroyed by the Iranian air defenses, while only some managed to strike locations inside the country, he added.
“They knew that we are awake, alert, and battle-tested, and that our nation is familiar with these situations,” Sayyari said. 

He said the enemies are constantly after an opportunity to deliver a blow to the country.
The Iranian youths are, however, guarding the country’s borders day and night so the Iranian people can enjoy security and welfare and the country stays on the path of progress, he added.
Sayyari hailed Iran’s military might, citing the examples of Operation True Promise II and Operation True Promise.
“Our armed forces delivered heavy blows to the Zionist regime during the operations, and put their offensive capability on display.”