Iran will have 'no choice' but to acquire nukes if attacked: Khamenei adviser

Iran would have no alternative but to acquire a nuclear weapon if attacked by the United States or its allies, an adviser to the country's supreme leader warned on Monday, following a threat by Donald Trump.

The remarks by Ali Larijani to the state news broadcaster were among the clearest yet by a senior political figure indicating Tehran could pursue a bomb if threatened.

"If you make a mistake on the nuclear issue, you will force Iran to move toward nuclear weapons because it must defend itself," Larijani told IRIB.

"Iran does not want to take this path, but when you apply pressure, it finds a secondary justification and has no other choice. The people will push for it, arguing that it is necessary for the country’s security."

Larijani has served as speaker of the parliament, national security chief, nuclear negotiator and head of the state broadcaster. His standpoint openly represent Iran's ultimate decision-maker, Ali Khamenei.

"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," Khamenei's adviser Ali Larijani said in an interview with state TV.

"Iran does not want to do this, but... (it) will have no choice," he added.

"If at some point you (the US) move towards bombing by yourself or through Israel, you will force Iran to make a different decision."

In an interview on Saturday, Trump had said "there will be bombing" if Iran did not agree to a new nuclear deal, according to NBC News, which said he also threatened to punish Tehran with what he called "secondary tariffs".

Trump's language represented a sharpening of his rhetoric, though it was not clear whether he was threatening bombing by US planes alone or perhaps in an operation coordinated with another country, possibly Iran's nemesis Israel.

"They threaten to do mischief," Khamenei said of the remarks during a speech on Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

"If it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack."

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, in a post on X, said the threat was "a shocking affront to the very essence of international peace and security".

Baqaei warned of unspecified "consequences" should the United States choose a path of "violence".