TEHRAN, Iran 

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has sent a formal letter to top officials of the United Nations, accusing the US of directing Israeli attacks on his country.

Addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the president of the UN Security Council, the letter holds Washington responsible for the June 13 Israeli attack that triggered a 12-day war between the two arch-foes.

The letter follows a recent statement by US President Donald Trump, in which he claimed that he was "very much in charge" of the Israeli attack against Iran.

Araghchi described Trump's remarks as clear evidence of US leadership and control over what he termed illegal actions by Israel, which killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, including senior military commanders and prominent nuclear scientists.

According to the letter, these attacks were carried out in violation of Article 2 of the UN Charter and included indiscriminate strikes against civilians. 

Civilian targets reportedly included hospitals, ambulances, the state broadcaster, prisons, and energy infrastructure, including nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.

The letter noted that these actions violated not only the UN Charter but also the Final Documents of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conferences, relevant IAEA resolutions, including Resolutions 444 and 533, as well as UN Security Council Resolution 487 (1981).

Araghchi said the responsibility for these actions rests not only with Israel but also with the US, which "exercised direction and control" over the Israeli attacks.

He demanded that the US government fully compensate for the material and moral damage inflicted on Iran, including restoration of the situation to its previous state and reparations in accordance with established principles of international law.

Araghchi warned that Trump and any American officials involved could face individual criminal responsibility for what he termed gross violations of international humanitarian law, including committing aggression, directing attacks against civilians, including women, children, scientists, academics, journalists, and prisoners, and intentionally targeting military officers outside combat zones.

Iran "reserves its right" to pursue all legal avenues to hold responsible states and individuals accountable and to obtain reparations for damage caused during the war, the letter said.

Tensions have dramatically escalated between Tehran and Washington since the June war, with nuclear negotiations also put on the back burner. Iran insists that the talks would resume only when the US guarantees that the process would not be derailed again.

Washington has demanded that Tehran enter direct negotiations on its nuclear program, while insisting that Iran's nuclear infrastructure suffered irreparable damage in the US strikes on three key nuclear sites inside Iran during the 12-day war.