Iran has written to the UN formally condemning the US for its recent strikes on nuclear facilities and rejecting its “self-defence” justification for the attacks, Iranian media is reporting, according to Al Jazeera.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that in the letter, Iran’s representative to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, rejected Washington’s attempts to justify its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities as an act of self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

He said Iran denounced the explanation as a “blatant distortion” of international law and the UN’s Charter, saying the attacks were a violation of Tehran’s sovereignty, and contravened principles governing the peaceful use of nuclear energy.