Iran Warns of Developing Nuclear Weapons if the US Launches an Attack

A counselor to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Larijani, cautioned Monday that if America or Israel struck Iran in regard to nuclear fears, Iran would have no option but to develop nuclear weapons. The comments were made by Iran's official news agency, IRNA.

The comments from Larijani came after repeated threats from U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli leaders who have been making a lot of noise about Tehran's nuclear pursuits.

While Larijani stressed that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had issued a religious edict prohibiting the nation from developing nuclear weapons, he went on to say, "If the United States makes any error, Iran will be compelled to seek nuclear weapons because of pressure from its people." He also cautioned that any attack on Iran would have severe consequences, maintaining that bombing Iran's nuclear facilities would prove ineffective in annihilating the nation's nuclear program.

In addition, Larijani signaled that any prospective talks with the United States would most probably be indirect in nature, aimed at being able to understand each other's standpoints and obtaining mutual accommodations on the nuclear front.

Trump, in an interview with NBC News on Sunday, threatened "unprecedented military strikes" against Iran if it did not negotiate on its nuclear program. He said, "If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing like they've never seen before," and indicated that U.S. and Iranian officials were "talking," although without offering more details.

These comments came after a letter Trump wrote to Iranian leaders in early March via the United Arab Emirates, offering direct negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.

In reaction, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced on Sunday that Tehran had turned down the offer of direct talks but did not rule out indirect negotiations. He explained that Iran is not opposed in principle to negotiations, but the U.S. has to address its previous "misconduct" first and restore confidence so that any negotiations can be conducted.