Senators say US will hit Iran if it rebuilds nuclear, missile programs
President Donald Trump would likely authorize more US attacks if Iran advances its nuclear or missile programs, Republican senators told Jewish Insider.
President Donald Trump would likely authorize more US attacks if Iran advances its nuclear or missile programs, Republican senators told Jewish Insider.
“If they go forward again and start building up nuclear facilities, yeah, I think Trump’s going to bomb the hell out of them,” Republican Senator Rick Scott said.
The United States joined a surprise US military campaign on Iran with a June 22 attack on three key nuclear facilities which Trump said "obliterated" the program.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to attack nuclear sites again should uranium enrichment resume and in recent days warned Tehran that Washington was "locked and loaded" and ready to intervene if Iran killed protestors as unrest grips the country.
“We should be considering what action may be appropriate if Iran progresses with its missile building and nuclear programs, which are obviously a pressing and dire threat to us and Israel,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal was quoted as saying.
Trump’s ultimatum on Iranian protests and the shock US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend has ramped up suspense over the president's next steps, but close ally Republican Senator John Kennedy dismissed any direct connection.
“I don’t think one’s related to the other,” Kennedy said. “I also think that if Iran starts back in terms of developing a nuclear weapon or substantially tries to increase the number of missiles that they have, I think the president should hit them, and I believe he will.”
Republican Senator Pete Ricketts also said the US military remains ready, echoing Trump’s warnings about Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.
“President Trump is demonstrating that we have the most outstanding military in the world. And if he believes that we need to strike Iran again, I believe he’ll do it,” Ricketts said.
Trump launched the attack on Iran after two months of fruitless talks and has offered to return to dialogue. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has rejected the overture, branding as unacceptable US demands that Iran end domestic enrichment and rein in its missile program and support for armed allies in the region.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine asserted that the US president should not launch military strikes against any country, including Iran, without consent from US Congress.
“This president should not willy-nilly use the press, use the military as his palace guard to go here, there and everywhere,” Kaine said. “Not Nigeria, not Iran, not Venezuela, not international waters, not Cuba, not Mexico, not Panama, not Greenland. It should be a debate with Congress.”
The United States held five rounds of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program earlier this year, for which Trump set a 60‑day deadline.
When no agreement was reached by the 61st day on June 13, Israel launched a surprise military offensive, followed by US strikes on June 22 targeting key nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow.
In a statement carried by state media, the council said allegations and interventionist remarks directed at Iran could be treated as hostile acts if they went beyond rhetoric.
It said Iran’s security, independence and territorial integrity constituted a red line that cannot be crossed, and warned that continued hostile behavior would prompt a response, with full responsibility for the consequences resting with those behind it.
The statement said that, within the framework of legitimate defense, Iran did not consider itself restricted to responding only after an action had taken place and would treat tangible signs of a threat as part of its security assessment.
“Any infringement on national interests, interference in internal affairs or action against Iran’s stability will be met with a proportionate, targeted and decisive response... An escalation in threatening language and interventionist conduct that goes beyond verbal posturing may be interpreted as hostile behavior.”
The Defense Council was formed following the 12-day war in June on the order of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The warning comes as protests have continued across Iran in recent days, with senior officials accusing Washington and Israel of interference in the country’s internal affairs.
On Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry said statements by some US and Israeli officials amounted to interference and incitement to violence under international norms.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday night aboard Air Force One that the United States was monitoring developments in Iran closely and warned that if Iranian authorities resumed killing protesters, the country would face a strong response from Washington.
At least 29 people have been killed and more than 1,200 arrested in nine days of nationwide protests in Iran, according to rights group HRANA, as demonstrations and strikes continue despite a heavier security presence.
Alexey Dedov said accusations over Iran’s role in the Ukraine war were being used as “merely a pretext for taking aggressive anti-Iran measures,” adding that both Tehran and Moscow had rejected the allegations.
“In my view, European countries are seeking to punish any state that pursues an independent foreign policy and refuses to follow directives from Brussels or other European capitals,” ISNA quoted Dedov as saying.
He said this approach was reflected first in Europe’s stance on the snapback mechanism.
Iran has emerged as one of Russia’s key backers since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Tehran has been accused of supplying Russia with hundreds of Shahed-series attack drones.
Western governments and Kyiv say Iranian-made drones have played a central role in Russia’s aerial campaign, allegations Iran has repeatedly denied or played down.
“If the issue was not Ukraine, European countries would have found other pretexts to take hostile action against Iranian officials with the same self-serving approach,” Dedov said.
He said relations between Moscow and Tehran had reached an unprecedented level in recent years, adding that cooperation in the gas, electricity and nuclear sectors was expanding.
“Bushehr nuclear power plant is our main joint project, with its first unit having been successfully operating for more than 10 years,” he said, adding that construction of the second and third units was continuing and about 700 Russian specialists were working on the project.
The Ministry of Defence Export Center, known as Mindex, presents itself as the export arm of Iran’s defense ministry. It advertises more than 3,000 products across categories including armaments, rockets and missiles, aviation, marine platforms, and radar and optical systems.
The portal’s payment terms say contracts can be settled using “digital currencies,” local currencies in the buyer’s country and barter arrangements, alongside more traditional bank transfers.
Mindex’s online platform, hosted on an Iranian cloud provider already blacklisted by Washington, says decades of experience in overseas sales and says it works with a number of foreign clients.
A frequently asked questions section reassures potential buyers that “given the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding circumvention of sanctions, there is no problem in implementing the contract,” and promises that purchased products will reach their destination “as soon as possible,” FT reported.
According to the center’s own “About us” page, Mindex began its marketing activity in 1989 and is “affiliated to the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics,” (MODAFL) a ministry that has been under US sanctions since 2007 for supporting Iran’s missile and conventional arms programs.
Washington has repeatedly targeted MODAFL‑linked front companies and procurement networks, warning that foreign entities supplying or buying military hardware through such channels risk secondary sanctions and potential exclusion from the US financial system.
Recent US designations have also singled out Iran‑linked “shadow banking” and crypto networks accused of helping Tehran move money for oil and weapons sales outside formal banking channels, underscoring the risks for buyers using digital assets to pay Mindex.
US Treasury in recent months has sanctioned multiple Iran‑linked networks accused of using front companies and alternative payment channels to facilitate weapons transfers to partners such as Russia and Venezuela, warning that digital currencies do not shield transactions from enforcement.
