Iran supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's adviser Ali Larijani warned on Monday that the country would have to get nuclear weapon if attacked by the United States or its allies, reports Hindustan Times.
Khamenei's remarks followed US President Donald Trump's threat from Saturday, warning that "there will be bombing" if Iran did not agree to a nuclear deal, NBC News had reported. Donald Trump also threatened to punish Iran with what he described as 'secondary tariffs'.
Following this, Khamenei promised to hit back if Trump carried out his threat to bomb the Islamic republic if it did not make a nuclear program deal.
The supreme leader's adviser Ali Larijani, while speaking to state TV, said, "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."
He further added that, "Iran does not want to do this, but...(it) will have no choice. If at some point you (the US) move towards bombing by yourself or through Israel, you will force Iran to make a different discussion."
Meanwhile, it remained unclear whether the US president was threatening a bombing by Washington or an operation coordinated with another nation, likely Iran's nemesis Israel.
During a speech marking the end of Ramadan, Khamenei said, "They threaten to do mischief. If it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack."
Iran's UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani also sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council over the US' threat and slammed the "warmongering provocations".
The envoy stated that Iran "will respond swiftly and decisively to any act of aggression or attack by the United States or its proxy, the Israeli regime."
Following the "threats" made by the US president, Iran's foreign ministry also summoned the charge d'affaires of the Swiss embassy, which represents American interests in Iran.
Meanwhile, General Amirali Hajizadeh, a senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said, "The Americans have at least 10 bases in the region around Iran, and they have 50,000 troops."
The man in-charge of Iran's ballistic missile programme on Monday threatened that "someone who is in a glass room shouldn't throw stones at anyone".
Notably, western countries including the US have for a long time been accusing Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapon, a statement that Tehran has denied many times, insisting that it enrichment activities were solely aimed at peaceful purposes.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
