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Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Monday on X that “Iran’s missile and defensive capabilities are neither containable nor in need of permission,” according to the German Press Agency (DPA).
Shamkhani was quoted by DPA as saying: “Any aggression towards Iran would be met with an “immediate harsh response” beyond the imagination of its planners.”
His remarks came in response to a warning from US President Donald Trump to Iran on Monday over rebuilding its nuclear programme. Trump made the comments while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Florida residence for extensive talks.
Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said: “I’ve been reading that they’re building up weapons and other things, and if they are, we will have to hit them. But we hope it does not happen.”
He added that “the United States could support another major strike on Iran were it to resume rebuilding its ballistic missile or nuclear weapons programmes.”
Trump’s warning followed his claim that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been “completely and entirely destroyed” by US strikes on key nuclear enrichment sites in June.
Iran’s ballistic bunker-busters: Smashing Israel’s rules of war?
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