Ayatollah Khamenei warns of ‘strong’ response if Iran attacked

The Ayatollah warns Tehran will have no alternative but to acquire a nuclear weapon if attacked, after Trump threatened Iran would be bombed if it didn’t reach a deal on its nuclear program.

Tehran has warned it will have no alternative but to acquire a nuclear weapon if attacked, after Donald Trump threatened Iran would be bombed if it didn’t reach a deal on its nuclear program.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei told a congregation at Eid al-Fitr prayers that any “hostile act” would “undoubtedly” be met “with a strong counterstroke,” while his spokesman insisted that Iran “has to defend itself.”

“They threaten to do mischief,” the Ayatollah said of Mr Trump’s latest threat, during a speech on the holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

“If it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counter-attack.”

Ali Larijani, adviser to the Ayatollah, told state TV: “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.”

On Monday (AEDT) The Tehran Times – regarded as a voice of the Iranian regime – posted on X that the country’s missiles are “loaded onto launchers in all underground missile cities and are ready for launch.”

“Opening the Pandora’s box will come at a heavy cost for the US government and its allies,” the post added.

Their comments came as the US President vowed strikes on Yemen’s Houthis would continue until they are no longer a threat to shipping, warning the rebels and their Iranian backers of “real pain” to come.

His threat on the Truth Social network were made as his administration battles a scandal over a chat between senior US officials on the Yemen strikes that was accidentally leaked to a journalist.

“The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at US ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran,” said Mr Trump.

He added that the Houthis had been “decimated” by “relentless” strikes since March 15, saying that US forces “hit them every day and night – Harder and harder.”

“Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation,” he said on his social network.

In recent days, Mr Trump has repeatedly insisted on what he calls the success of the US strikes on the Houthis whenever he is asked about the so-called “Signalgate” scandal that has rocked his administration.

The Atlantic magazine revealed last week that its editor was mistakenly included in a chat on the commercially available Signal app as top officials discussed the Yemen strikes.

The officials, including Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, revealed details of air strike timings and intelligence.

Mr Trump has rejected calls to sack Waltz or Hegseth and branded the scandal a “witch hunt.” “This case has been closed here at the White House as far as we are concerned,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.

AFP