TEHRAN – Iran’s top security official says the country will “zealously” defend its national security and reject humiliating conditions, including limits on its missile range, in a sharp response to Western demands.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, made the remarks on his X account, responding to comments by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his recent visit to the occupied Palestinian territories.
Rubio, speaking alongside Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, described Iran’s missile capabilities as a threat to countries in the Persian Gulf and Europe.
The tensions follow Israel’s mid-June military aggression against Iran, which involved assassination of high-ranking military commanders, scientists, and civilians. Iran retaliated by launching ballistic and 

hypersonic missile strikes against key Israeli locations, including Tel Aviv and Haifa.
Larijani previously said that U.S. demands to restrict Iran’s missile program “set a path that negates any talks.”
In his latest post, Larijani criticized Western countries for their handling of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). 
“First America withdrew from the JCPOA, then Europe reneged on its promises, and finally they bombed [Iran], and now they are the ones acting as creditors,” he said.
He added, “Iran will zealously defend its national security and will not allow humiliating conditions such as limiting the range of its missiles to be imposed.”