Ali Larijani, a senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a stark warning on Monday, stating that any military aggression by the United States or Israel could push Iran to pursue nuclear weapons.
Although Larijani noted that Iran currently abides by a fatwa—a religious ruling issued by Khamenei—forbidding the use of nuclear arms, he cautioned that external attacks could change the situation dramatically. “If the US or Israel make a mistake and bomb Iran, it would force Iran to develop them due to public pressure,” he said.
Larijani also advised Washington to reconsider its stance, urging the U.S. government to “choose a different course rather than hostility.”
His statements came shortly after Ayatollah Khamenei himself delivered a message aimed at U.S. President Donald Trump, warning that any aggression toward Iran would be met with severe consequences.
Khamenei made it clear that should the U.S. act on its threats, “it will receive a strong blow.”
President Trump, speaking to NBC on Sunday, escalated tensions further, stating, “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing — and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”
In a pointed response, Iran’s state-affiliated newspaper Tehran Times took to X (formerly Twitter), asserting that the country’s missile arsenal was already positioned and ready to fire. According to the post, Iran’s missiles are “loaded onto launchers in all underground missile cities and are ready for launch.”
Trump later doubled down, suggesting that further economic pressure could be applied to Tehran if no nuclear agreement is reached. He hinted that secondary tariffs were on the table if negotiations faltered.
“We’re going to make a decision on secondary tariffs on Iran based on whether or not they’re going to make a deal. If they’re going to make a deal, then we’re never going to put secondary tariffs on. We can hope they have a great, long, and successful life as a country. But we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters.
The president continued, expressing his desire for diplomacy over conflict: “I can’t imagine them doing anything else but making a deal. I would prefer a deal to the other alternative, which I think everybody in this plane knows what that is, and that’s not going to be pretty, and I do not prefer that.”
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