Iran’s top security official says threatening to use “other options” against Iran – the terminology commonly used to refer to military action – is an "illegal threat" to another country, giving Iran the right to resort to its own “available options” in response.

US President Joe Biden used his first meeting with new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to threaten to “turn to other options” against Iran if diplomacy failed.

“We’re putting diplomacy first and seeing where that takes us,” Biden said ahead of the meeting, held at the White House on Friday, “If diplomacy fails, we’re ready to turn to other options.”

By diplomacy, the US president was pointing to the talks in Vienna, Austria, to reinstate the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, which was abandoned by former US President Donald Trump in 2018.

Trump’s move was lauded by Israel at the time. Biden’s decision to rejoin the nuclear deal has been opposed by Bennett and his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu.