Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday appeared to dismiss President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb the country if it fails to agree to a nuclear deal, while also warning that such an attack would trigger a “strong” retaliation from Tehran.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said it was "highly unlikely" that the U.S. would bomb ... More
In a televised sermon delivered after Eid prayers on Monday, Khamenei said enmity and hostility from the U.S. and Israel remained, but downplayed the threat of an attack from Washington, saying it was “highly unlikely,” according to Iranian state media.
However, the Iranian leader warned that if such an attack were to happen, it would be met with a “heavy blow in return.”
Khamenei said if the U.S. government was thinking of fomenting “sedition inside the country, as in past years”—a likely reference to anti-government sweeping protests across Iran in 2022 and 2023—the Iranian people “will give a strong response…just like they did before.”
In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Trump said he is prepared to levy secondary tariffs on Iran if it fails to accept a deal over its nuclear program and added: “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing.”
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Earlier this month, Trump expressed interest in negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran and told the Fox Business network that he had sent a letter to the country’s leadership. “I said I hope you're going to negotiate, because it's going to be a lot better for Iran,” Trump said, adding that “if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing.” The president told reporters at the White House that he expected some progress on the matter soon, and “we're down to the final moments…can't let them have a nuclear weapon.” He would rather see a peace deal to resolve the matter than any other measures, “but the other will solve the problem.” In his interview with NBC News.
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country has rejected Trump’s bid to engage in direct negotiations over a nuclear deal. During a televised meeting of his cabinet, the Iranian president said, “We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far…They must prove that they can build trust.” Pezeshkian, however, noted that while the “possibility of direct negotiations between the two sides has been rejected in this response,” the path for “indirect negotiations remains open.”
In response to Pezeshkian’s remarks, the state department told the Associated Press that, “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...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.”
Trump Says He’s ‘Pissed Off’ At Putin, Threatens To Bomb Iran And Impose More Tariffs (Forbes)
Iran has rejected direct negotiations with the US in response to Trump’s letter (Associated Press)