Trump Threatens Bombing if Iran Rejects Nuclear Deal

Washington, D.C. – March 30, 2025 U.S. President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Iran on Sunday, threatening military action—including devastating bombings—if Tehran fails to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Washington. The remarks, delivered in a telephone interview with NBC News, mark Trump’s first public comments since Iran formally rejected direct negotiations last week, further deepening the standoff between the two nations over Iran’s advancing nuclear program. As tensions simmer in the Middle East, Trump’s statements have reignited global concerns about the potential for a military confrontation, with analysts warning of the far-reaching consequences of such an outcome.

Trump’s latest salvo comes on the heels of a letter he sent three weeks ago to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urging Tehran to re-engage in nuclear talks or face severe repercussions. According to Axios, the letter imposed a two-month deadline for Iran to reach an agreement, a timeline that would place the cutoff in early May 2025. While the White House has not officially confirmed the deadline’s specifics, Trump’s rhetoric suggests an impatience with diplomatic delays. “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” Trump declared to NBC’s Kristen Welker. “It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”

The president also hinted at economic pressure as an alternative or complementary measure, referencing “secondary tariffs” similar to those he imposed during his first term (2017–2021). These tariffs, which target buyers of Iranian goods rather than Iran directly, were credited with bringing Tehran to a weakened economic position in the past. “There’s a chance that if they don’t make a deal, I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago,” Trump added, though he offered no further details on their scope.

Iran’s Defiant Response

Iran’s leadership has shown little inclination to bend under Trump’s pressure. On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated Tehran’s refusal to engage in direct talks with the United States, citing a lack of trust stemming from Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) during his first term. The JCPOA, brokered by the Obama administration with Iran and world powers, had imposed strict limits on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief—a deal Trump famously derided as “the worst deal ever” before exiting it in 2018.

Speaking at a televised cabinet meeting, Pezeshkian emphasized that while Iran had responded to Trump’s letter via the Sultanate of Oman—an established mediator between the two nations—the response explicitly ruled out face-to-face negotiations. “We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,” he said, placing the onus on Washington to rebuild credibility. “They must prove that they can build trust.” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi echoed this sentiment earlier in the week, noting that Tehran remains open to indirect talks but only if the U.S. abandons its “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions and threats.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has also weighed in, dismissing Trump’s overtures as deceptive and arguing that negotiations under duress are neither “intelligent, wise, nor honorable.” This hardline stance reflects a broader sentiment in Tehran, where officials view Trump’s approach as a continuation of the aggressive policies that have battered Iran’s economy and fueled regional instability since 2018.

Military Posturing Intensifies

Trump’s threats are not mere bluster, as evidenced by recent U.S. military movements in the region. In the past week, the Pentagon deployed several B-2 stealth bombers to Diego Garcia, a strategic military base in the Indian Ocean. These aircraft, capable of delivering massive “bunker buster” bombs designed to penetrate underground facilities, are seen as a pointed message to Iran, whose nuclear sites—like the Fordow enrichment facility—are heavily fortified. A U.S. official, speaking anonymously to Axios, described the deployment as “not disconnected” from Trump’s deadline, underscoring the administration’s readiness to back its words with action.

Meanwhile, Iran has not stood idle. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has conducted large-scale military exercises in recent months, focusing on defending sensitive nuclear and infrastructure sites. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf warned on Friday that any U.S. attack would trigger retaliatory strikes on American bases in the region, predicting that “the entire region will blow up like a spark in an ammunition dump.” This tit-for-tat posturing has heightened fears of a broader conflict, potentially involving U.S. allies like Israel, which has its own history of airstrikes against Iranian targets.

The Nuclear Stakes

At the heart of this standoff lies Iran’s nuclear program, which has made significant strides since the JCPOA’s collapse. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports that Iran has amassed enough uranium enriched to 60% purity—nearing the 90% threshold for weapons-grade material—to theoretically produce multiple nuclear bombs. While Tehran insists its program is for civilian energy purposes, Western powers, including the U.S. and Israel, accuse Iran of pursuing a clandestine weapons agenda, a charge bolstered by Iran’s enrichment levels and its obstruction of IAEA inspectors.

Analysts estimate that Iran could achieve “breakout” capacity—the ability to produce a bomb’s worth of fissile material—within weeks, though assembling a deliverable weapon would take longer. This shrinking timeline has intensified calls for action, with some U.S. lawmakers, like Senator Lindsey Graham, advocating for a deal that eliminates Iran’s enrichment capabilities entirely. Trump, however, has expressed a preference for negotiation over military confrontation, telling NBC, “I would prefer to make a deal, because I’m not looking to hurt Iran.”

The prospect of U.S. bombings carries profound implications beyond Iran’s borders. Israel, which has repeatedly warned it will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, could join any military effort, potentially amplifying the conflict. Iran’s “Axis of Resistance”—including proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Shia militias in Iraq—could retaliate against U.S. and Israeli interests, risking a regional conflagration. Recent U.S. airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, following attacks on Red Sea shipping, illustrate the interconnected nature of these tensions.

Internationally, Trump’s approach has drawn mixed reactions. European signatories to the JCPOA—France, Germany, and the UK—continue to push for diplomacy, though their leverage has waned since 2018. Russia and China, also parties to the original deal, have opposed further sanctions, with Moscow even offering to broker talks. The United Nations Security Council remains a potential flashpoint, as the European trio threatens to “snap back” pre-2015 sanctions—a move Iran warns could prompt it to abandon the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty altogether.

Economic Fallout and Domestic Pressure

Iran’s economy, already reeling from years of sanctions, faces further strain as Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy resumes. The rial has plummeted in value, inflation has soared, and unemployment remains rampant, fueling domestic discontent. Some Iranian hardliners, including parliamentarian Ahmad Naderi, have suggested that acquiring a nuclear deterrent might be the only way to counter U.S. aggression, a shift from Khamenei’s longstanding fatwa against such weapons.

For Trump, the stakes are equally high. A successful deal could cement his legacy as a dealmaker, while failure risks entangling the U.S. in another Middle Eastern war—a scenario he has repeatedly vowed to avoid. As the May deadline approaches, the world watches anxiously, bracing for either a diplomatic breakthrough or a catastrophic escalation. 17GEN4.com