Iran may be forced to develop nuclear weapons if it comes under attack by the United States or its allies, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Monday. This statement comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran following a new warning from US President Donald Trump.
Ali Larijani, an influential political figure in Iran, stated on national television that while Iran has no current plans to pursue nuclear weapons, external threats could change its stance. “We are not moving towards (nuclear) weapons, but if you do something wrong in the Iranian nuclear issue, you will force Iran to move towards that because it has to defend itself,” Larijani said. “Iran does not want to do this, but ... (it) will have no choice.”
The remarks came in response to Trump’s latest warning, in which he told NBC News, "There will be bombing" if Iran does not comply with US demands regarding its nuclear program. He also suggested imposing "secondary tariffs" on Tehran, though specific details were not provided.
Khamenei swiftly responded, vowing that any military attack on Iran would be met with force. “If it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack,” he said in a speech marking the end of Ramadan.
In response to Trump's remarks, Iran sent a formal letter to the UN Security Council, condemning what it called “warmongering provocations.” Iranian UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani warned that Iran "will respond swiftly and decisively to any act of aggression or attack by the United States or its proxy, the Israeli regime."
Iran’s foreign ministry also summoned the Swiss charge d’affaires, who represents US interests in Iran, to protest the threats. Meanwhile, senior Iranian military officials issued their own warnings. General Amirali Hajizadeh, a top commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated, "The Americans have at least 10 bases in the region around Iran, and they have 50,000 troops. Someone who is in a glass room shouldn’t throw stones at anyone."