A senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader issued a defiant warning Tuesday after President Donald Trump said he would greenlight an Israeli strike on Iran if Tehran moves to rebuild its nuclear or missile programs.

Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to Ali Khamenei, responded on social media hours after Trump’s remarks, declaring that Iran’s military capabilities are not subject to outside approval. “Iran’s missile capability and defense are not containable or permission-based,” Shamkhani wrote. “Any aggression will face an immediate harsh response beyond its planners’ imagination.”

Trump’s comments came during a press briefing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two leaders held wide-ranging talks on regional security.

The president warned Iran against attempting to reconstitute its nuclear program, asserting that U.S. strikes carried out in June had “completely and fully obliterated” Iran’s key enrichment facilities. Still, Trump said he had heard reports that Tehran may be rebuilding parts of its military capability.

“Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again,” Trump told reporters. “And if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down. We’ll knock them down. We’ll knock the hell out of them.”

Iran has denied resuming uranium enrichment, signaling it remains open to negotiations with the West. Israeli officials, however, have voiced concern that Iran is rebuilding its arsenal of long-range missiles capable of striking Israel.

Netanyahu was expected to press Trump on the need for renewed military action against Tehran, just months after Israel and the United States concluded a 12-day conflict with Iran. Trump criticized Tehran for refusing to dismantle its nuclear program before the strikes.

“They wish they made that deal,” he said.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)