From left to right : Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati (President of the Assembly of Experts, the 86 religious sages who preside over Iran) ; Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani (Chief of the Islamic Judiciary) ; Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Supreme Leader of Iran) ; Cheikh Hassan Rohani (President of the Islamic Republic) ; Ali Larijani (brother of the Chief of the Islamic Judiciary and President of the National Assembly).<\/p>\n
A senior\u00a0advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei\u00a0has warned that if the United States and Israel bomb Iran under any nuclear pretext, the Islamic Republic may have no choice but to go nuclear.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ali Larijani sounded the alert on Monday, after US President Donald Trump has in multiple times during the past several days threatened Iran with bombardment if Tehran refused to strike a new agreement on its nuclear program with Washington.<\/p>\n \u201cIran has gained a distinguished position among major powers, and most Western countries want to establish independent relations with Iran. However, due to US pressure, they have not taken a definitive stance,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n Back in May 2018, the US began to unilaterally impose sanctions against Iran after Trump pull out his country from the 2015 nuclear deal \u2013 officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – between Iran and world powers.<\/p>\n The then-Trump administration launched what it called a maximum pressure campaign against Iran at the time, targeting the Iranian nation with the \u201ctoughest ever\u201d embargoes through returning the sanctions that the agreement had lifted, and imposing even more illegal and unilateral bans against Tehran.<\/p>\n Retaliating against the measures, Iran took legitimate nuclear steps that have featured its operationalizing advanced centrifuges, among\u00a0other things.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the US or Israel bomb Iran under the pretext of Iran\u2019s nuclear issue, the Islamic Republic will be forced to move towards producing nuclear bombs. Iranian people will pressure us to develop nuclear weapons,\u201d Larijani stressed.<\/p>\n Trump revealed in early March that he had sent a letter to Iran. At the same time, he reinstated his maximum pressure policy against Iran by imposing fresh sanctions on the country. The letter was delivered to Tehran on March 12 by UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash.<\/p>\n On March 27, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran\u2019s official response to the US president\u2019s letter had been sent through Oman.<\/p>\n Iran has stressed time and again that it will not sit at the negotiating table with the US administration as Trump continues his pressure campaign against Tehran.<\/p>\n \u201cMilitary action against Iran will not be without consequences. The content of Trump’s letter is almost the same rhetoric he always repeats,\u201d further said Larijani, who served as parliament speaker between 2008 and 2020.<\/p>\n Iran has ruled out direct negotiations with the US under pressure but has said it is open to indirect talks.<\/p>\n \u201cIndirect negotiations are about understanding each side\u2019s demands and concessions. In the nuclear issue, Trump disrupted the agreement, but Iran\u2019s nuclear program cannot be destroyed by bombing,\u201d Larijani stressed.<\/p>\n In an interview with NBC News late last week, Trump threatened that \u201cIf they don\u2019t make a deal, there will be bombing.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, Ayatollah Khamenei warned that if the US commits any hostile act against the Islamic Republic, \u201cit will certainly receive a heavy blow in return.\u201d<\/p>\n Elsewhere in his remarks, Larijani noted that most politicians consider Trump’s statements to be mere rhetoric, adding that Ayatollah Khamenei did not consider the JCPOA a good agreement because a US president easily broke his country\u2019s commitments, \u201cwhereas we upheld ours.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Leader\u2019s fatwa prohibits nuclear weapons, but if the US makes a mistake, public pressure will force Iran toward nuclear armament,\u201d Larijani stressed.<\/p>\n \u201cWestern discussions revolve around destabilizing Iran from within. Despite economic discontent, the Islamic Republic enjoys strong public support. The bond between the people and the Revolution is like that between a parent and child,\u201d the Leader\u2019s advisor further emphasized.<\/p>\n Last month, Ayatollah Khamenei dismissed Trump\u2019s outreach for talks, criticizing him of attempting to deceive global public opinion by portraying the United States as willing to negotiate while framing Iran as unwilling to engage.<\/p>\n Iran remains the most verified Member State of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN\u2019s nuclear agency, having put the country\u2019s nuclear program under the agency\u2019s most comprehensive and frequent verification processes over decades.<\/p>\n Ayatollah Khamenei \u2013 through a relevant fatwa (religious decree) \u2013 has banned pursuance, acquisition, and storage of non-conventional weapons by the Islamic Republic that is among the first signatories to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).<\/p>\n