TEHRAN — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday warned that his country would respond harshly to any attack, following remarks by US President Donald Trump linking possible Israeli action to Tehran's attempt to rebuild the country's nuclear and missile capabilities.

“The response of the Islamic Republic of Iran to any oppressive aggression will be harsh and regrettable,” Pezeshkian said in a post on X, without referring to any specific nation.

His statement came hours after Trump said he would support an Israeli strike if Tehran moves to revive its nuclear program. Speaking at his Palm Beach estate in Florida alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump claimed Iran was attempting to rebuild its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.

The US had not previously said it would target Iran’s missile capabilities, focusing instead on Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear activities are for civilian purposes only, and neither US intelligence nor the UN’s nuclear watchdog found any evidence of atomic weapons production before the June attacks by the US and Israel.

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

The US president said he would support strikes on Iran’s nuclear program “immediately” and on its missile facilities if Tehran continues developing long-range weapons.

Israeli officials have expressed concern in recent weeks that Iran is quietly rebuilding its ballistic missile stockpile, which was significantly depleted during the June conflict.

“If the Americans do not reach an agreement with the Iranians that halts their ballistic missile program, it may be necessary to confront Tehran,” an Israeli official told Ynet this week.

Pezeshkian recently described the standoff as a “full-scale war” with the US, Israel and Europe that is “more complicated and more difficult” than Iran’s bloody conflict with Iraq in the 1980s, which left more than one million dead.

The June war saw Israel launch nearly 360 strikes across 27 Iranian provinces over 12 days, according to conflict monitoring group ACLED, targeting military installations, nuclear facilities and government buildings.

The assault destroyed an estimated 1,000 Iranian ballistic missiles and killed more than 30 senior military commanders and at least 11 nuclear scientists.

Iran fired more than 500 missiles at Israel during the conflict, with approximately 36 landing in populated areas. While Trump claimed Iranian nuclear capabilities were “completely obliterated” by the strikes, experts disputed that, saying Tehran may have hidden stockpiles of enriched uranium and could resume production within months.

Iranian officials insist the country is now better prepared for confrontation. In a recent interview, Pezeshkian said Iran’s military forces are “stronger in terms of equipment and manpower” than before the ceasefire. — Agencies