US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened Iran with “possible bombing” and the imposition of secondary tariffs if the Islamic Republic does not comply with the nuclear deal proposed by the US.
During a telephone interview with NBC News, Trump said that the US would give Iran a couple of weeks to comply and that stern action would be taken depending on how the negotiations progress.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing—the likes of which they have never seen before,” Trump warned, as quoted by NBC News.
“We have secondary tariffs on Iran, and we’ll probably give it a couple of weeks. If we don’t see any progress, we’re going to impose them. But we will decide on secondary tariffs based on whether or not they agree to a nuclear deal. If they make a deal, then we will never impose secondary tariffs; instead, we will hope they have a great, long, and successful life as a country,” he added.
Trump also struck a conciliatory tone, expressing confidence that Iran would accept the deal, though he cautioned that failure to do so would have serious consequences.
“But we’ll see what happens… I can’t imagine them doing anything other than making a deal. I would prefer a deal to the alternative, which I think everybody understands—and that alternative is not going to be pretty. And I do not prefer that,” he emphasized.
Earlier on Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Iran had rejected the possibility of direct talks with the US following a letter from President Trump regarding its nuclear program, Politico reported.
“Although the possibility of direct negotiations has been rejected in this response, it has been emphasized that the path for indirect negotiations remains open,” Pezeshkian said, as quoted by Politico.
Tensions between Iran and the US have heightened since Trump returned to office, with his administration maintaining that Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon. During his previous term, Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear agreement designed to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, later accusing Tehran of failing to comply, Politico reported. That agreement also included China, Russia, France, Germany, Britain, and the European Union.
(ANI)
