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United States President Donald Trump threatened Iran on March 30 with bombing and secondary tariffs if an agreement on its nuclear program was not reached.
In an interview with NBC News over the telephone, Trump said that U.S. and Iranian officials were talking, but did not elaborate.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” Trump said. “It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”
“There’s a chance that if they don’t make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago,” he added.
Trump reportedly gave Iran a two-month deadline to sign a new nuclear deal or face potential military action in a letter sent to Tehran earlier this month.
Iran delivered a response via Oman just a few days ago. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a news conference on March 27 that the Islamic Republic maintains its position that it won’t negotiate directly with the U.S. so long as Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign is in place, but is willing to hold indirect talks.
President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated the policy on March 30, confirming that Iran had rejected direct talks with the U.S.
“Direct negotiations [with the U.S.] have been rejected, but Iran has always been involved in indirect negotiations, and now too, the Supreme Leader has emphasized that indirect negotiations can still continue,” he said, referring to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Responding to Trump’s latest threats, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the U.S. will receive a “strong” blow if it attacks Iran.
“They threaten to do mischief,” Khamenei said during a live speech, referring to threats from the U.S., adding that “if it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack.”
Separately, the Tehran Times reported that the Iranian military had readied hundreds of missiles with the capability to strike U.S. bases in the Middle East.
The U.S. has been also building up its military presence in the region. Last week, at least four B-2 stealth strategic bombers were spotted at Diego Garcia Air Base in the Indian Ocean, within striking range from Iran.
The B-2 was especially designed to penetrate dense air defense networks. It can also deploy the BU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a 14-ton precision-guided bunker buster bomb. Due to these capabilities, the B-2 is expected to play a key role in any U.S. attack on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon, but it has ramped up its enrichment of uranium up to 60 percent purity. It is the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so.
Trump’s threat represents a serious escalation. From its side, Iran also appears to be serious about responding to any attack by the U.S. Still, the two sides will likely find common ground for talks soon as they both recognize that any confrontation between them, even a brief exchange of strike, could result in a catastrophe.
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