US-Iran nuclear tensions continue to escalate

Washington [US], April 1: Iran has said it will acquire nuclear weapons if attacked by the United States or its proxies, after US President Donald Trump vowed to bomb Iran if it tried to develop them.
AFP news agency on April 1 quoted Ali Larijani, advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, declaring that the country will possess nuclear weapons if attacked by the US or its allies.
The statement came after US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb the country if it decided to develop nuclear weapons.
"We are not aiming for nuclear weapons, but if you do something wrong in the Iranian nuclear issue, you will force Iran to aim for it because it has to defend itself," Larijani said on Iranian state television.
"Iran does not want to do this, but will have no other choice. If at some point you move to bombing alone or through Israel, you will force Iran to make another decision," he added.
The statement came after Mr Khamenei said the US would face severe consequences if it carried out President Trump 's threat to bomb Iran .
"The hostility from America and Israel has always existed. They threaten to attack us, which we do not think is likely to happen, but if they commit any acts of sabotage, they will definitely receive a strong response," Khamenei declared.
The message was sent to the UN Security Council in a letter from Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, condemning what he called "aggressive provocations".
Iran "will respond quickly and decisively to any aggression or attack by the United States or its proxy, the Israeli regime," the letter said.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper