Attack will push Iran toward nuclear weapons, Khamenei advisor says

An attack threatened by US president Donald Trump would push Iran toward acquiring nuclear weapons to ensure its defense, a veteran nuclear negotiator and advisor to the Supreme Leader said on Monday.

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 views broadly represent those of Iran's hardline establishment and Iran's ultimate decision-maker, Ali Khamenei.

The US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said last week that Washington assessed Iran is not building nuclear weapons but that a taboo in Iran on discussing nuclear weapons in public was eroding.

Recent discourse in Tehran urging the acquisition a bomb, Gabbard added, is emboldening advocates for such a move in decision-making circles.

"Israel alone is not capable of confronting Iran and has always acted as a tool of the United States in the region," Larijani continued. "This regime seeks to draw Washington into direct conflict with Iran by exaggerating the situation."

Tensions have ramped up between Iran and the United States in recent days, with US President Trump threatening to bomb the country if it fails to reach a nuclear deal.

Iran has rejected direct negotiations amid US threats and a senior military commander warned on Monday that Iran could retaliate against US bases in the region in the event of an attack.

Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons and Khamenei has issued a religious injunction against them, but the United Nations nuclear watchdog says Iran has enriched more uranium than any state lacking a bomb.

The US military has deployed long range bombers at a strategic Indian Ocean airbase, a spokesperson told Iran International last week, a move which presaged major bombing campaigns against Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.