'No choice but to use nukes...if attacked': Iran to US
What's the story
An adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has warned that the country may consider acquiring nuclear weapons if it is attacked by the United States or its allies. "We are not moving towards (nuclear) weapons, but if you do something wrong in the Iranian nuclear issue, you will force Iran to move toward that because it has to defend itself," Ali Larijani told state TV. "Iran doesn't want to do this, but ...(it) will have no choice," he added.
US-Iran tensions
Trump threatens Iran with military action
The warning came after US President Trump recently warned Iran of military action if it doesn't agree on a nuclear deal. "If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing," Trump said in a telephone interview. "It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before." In response to such threats, Ayatollah Khamenei warned that any such aggression would be met with a strong counterattack from Iran.
Diplomatic actions
Iran's response to US provocations
Following the "threats by the US president," Iran's foreign ministry called in the charge d'affaires of the Swiss embassy, which represents US interests in Iran. "The Americans have at least 10 bases in the region around Iran, and they have 50,000 troops," warned General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. "Someone who is in a glass room shouldn't throw stones at anyone," he added.
Nuclear debate
Iran's nuclear program
Since taking office, Trump has reintroduced his "maximum pressure" approach, which resulted in the US withdrawing from a historic nuclear agreement with Iran and reimposing sanctions on Tehran during his first term. Western countries have long accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, which Tehran has denied, claiming that its enrichment activities are only for peaceful purposes. The 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and international powers required Iran to curtail its nuclear processing in exchange for sanctions relief.