Donald Trump on Sunday explicitly threatened Iran with war unless Tehran comes to the table and hammers out a new agreement on nuclear weapons with Washington.
The president spoke with NBC’s Kristen Welker in an early-morning phone call and told the host of Meet the Press that there would be “bombing” if Iran did not negotiate with the US, or if a deal was not reached as a result of those talks.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” said the US president. “It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”
His remark comes as the Trump administration has stated publicly its goal of reaching a new agreement with Tehran that would lead to the total shutdown of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The president sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, reportedly urging the Iranian government to begin negotiations with the prospect of significant sanctions relief and international cooperation on the table.
But Iran formally declined to begin those direct negotiations on Saturday, according to the country’s president. Masoud Pezeshkian said the message was delivered to US negotiators through the Omani government. He said that the official response from Iran left open the possibility for continued indirect negotiations, but added that the US must regain trust with Iran in order for formal diplomacy to resume.
“We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,” Pezeshkian said at a televised Cabinet meeting, according to the AP. “They must prove that they can build trust.”
The State Department previously issued a response early Sunday warning of “very bad” consequences should Iran refuse to negotiate an end to its nuclear weapons program. Development of nuclear materials has accelerated in Iran within recent months, according to a February report from the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency. The first Trump administration pulled out of a deal reached between the Obama administration, Iran and a number of European countries with that same goal in 2017, calling it ineffective and blaming Iran for repeatedly violating it.
“President Trump has been clear: the United States cannot allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”
“The president expressed his willingness to discuss a deal with Iran,” it added. “If the Iranian regime does not want a deal, the president is clear, he will pursue other options, which will be very bad for Iran.”
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been high for more than a year now as the US and its ally Israel have clashed with several groups the two countries accuse the Iranian government of funding and supporting through intelligence sharing and other cooperation. Conflict against one of those groups, the Houthis, resumed last weekend with a US strike in Yemen while Houthi forces target US military vessels and trade ships in the Red Sea.
Iran also launched a direct missile ballistic strike against Israel, causing minimal damage, in October of 2024 after a Hamas leader was assassinated in Tehran.
While military operations have resumed against the Houthis in Yemen, the State Department on Monday moved to up the pressure on Iran’s neighbor, Iraq, to combat Tehran’s influence over militant groups within its borders. In recent months, the Iraqi government has considered new national security legislation aimed at curbing the strength of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a Shia militant group with dozens of battalions around the country. Those forces include the Kataib Hezbollah, which traces its origins back to militant groups that fought US forces during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and still clash with US forces today.
“To strengthen Iraq’s sovereignty, the government of Iraq must ensure it has command and control of all security forces within its borders, to include the PMF,” press secretary Tammy Bruce said at her Monday briefing. “These forces must respond to Iraq’s commander-in-chief, and not to Iran.”
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