Donald Trump explicitly threatened Iran on Sunday, unless Tehran gets to the table and pulls out a new agreement on nuclear weapons with Washington.
The president spoke to Kristen Welker of NBC in an early morning call and the host of Meet the press that there would be “bombing” if Iran did not negotiate with the US, or if an agreement was not reached as a result of the discussions.
“If they do not enter into an agreement, there will be bombarded,” the US president said. “It will be a bombardment on the holding of people they have never seen before.”
His remark comes because the Trump administration has publicly declared its goal of reaching a new agreement with Tehran, which would lead to the total halt of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The president sent a letter to Iran’s highest leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, requesting the Iranian government to start negotiating with the prospect of significant sanctions and international cooperation on the table.
But Iran formally refused to start the direct negotiations on Saturday, according to the country’s president. Masoud Pezeshkian said the message was delivered to US negotiators by the Omani government. He said that the official response of Iran left the possibility of continued indirect negotiations, but added that the US should regain confidence with Iran to resume formal diplomacy.
“We do not avoid conversations; these are the promises that have caused us problems so far,” Pezeshkian said at a television cabinet meeting according to the AP. “They have to prove that they can build trust.”
Earlier Sunday, the State Department had an answer to a ‘very bad’ consequences if Iran refuses to negotiate an end to its nuclear weapons program. The development of nuclear material has accelerated in Iran in recent months, according to a report from the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency.
“President Trump was clear: The United States could not allow Iran to buy a nuclear weapon.”
“The president expressed his willingness to discuss an agreement with Iran,” he added. “If the Iranian regime does not want an agreement, the president is clear, he will pursue other options, which will be very bad for Iran.”
The tensions between Washington and Tehran have been more than a year now, as the US and its ally collide Israel with various groups, the two countries accuse the Iranian government of funding and support through intelligence distribution and other collaboration. Conflict against one of the groups, the Houthi’s, resumed this weekend with a US strike in Yemen, while Houthi forces target US military vessels and traded ships in the Red Sea.
Iran also launched a direct rocket -ballistic strike against Israel in October 2024, which caused minimal damage after a Hamas leader was killed in Tehran.
While military operations in Yemen resumed against the Houthi’s, the State Department on Monday moved the pressure on Iran’s neighbor, Iraq, to combat the influence of Tehran on militant groups within his borders. In recent months, the Iraqi government has considered new national security legislation to combat the strength of the popular mobilization forces, a militant group of Shia with dozens of battalions across the country. These powers include the Kataib Hezbollah, which traces its origin to militant groups that fought the US forces during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and still clash with the US forces today.
“To strengthen the sovereignty of Iraq, the Iraq government must ensure that it has the order and control of all security forces within its boundaries to include the PMF,” said press secretary Tammy Bruce during her Monday briefing. “These powers must respond to the commander of Iraq and not on Iran.”
