President Donald Trump warned that Iran could face military strikes and additional economic sanctions if it failed to reach an agreement with the U.S. regarding its nuclear program.
Speaking in a phone interview with NBC News on Sunday, Trump confirmed that discussions were taking place between U.S. and Iranian officials but did not provide further details.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” he stated. “But there’s also a chance that if they don’t agree, I will impose secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago.”
During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and several world powers. That deal had imposed strict limitations on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. After pulling out, Trump reinstated extensive U.S. sanctions, prompting Iran to expand its uranium enrichment program far beyond the deal’s original restrictions.
So far, Tehran has dismissed Trump’s warnings, resisting pressure to negotiate under the threat of military action.
According to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated that Iran had responded through Oman to a letter from Trump urging the country to agree to a new nuclear deal, USA TODAY reported on Thursday.
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said in February that Trump will never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, doubling down on previous statements by the president.
Waltz shared the comments during an interview on “Fox News Sunday” concerning a potential strike by Israel on Iran’s nuclear program.
“I can speak to what the president has repeatedly said and that is Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” Waltz said. “That not only would be existential for Israel, I think it would be existential for the entire world, because it could kick off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.”
“How we get there, I’m not going to get into the details here, but the president has also expressed a willingness to take whatever action is necessary,” he continued. “All options are on the table, but also to talk to Iran as well if they want to give up their entire program and not play games as we’ve seen Iran do in the past in prior negotiations.”
He concluded, “I’ll promise you this: President Trump is absolutely serious, deadly serious, when he says Iran can never have a nuke, and certainly not on President Trump’s watch; they are an irrational actor that we cannot allow to have their finger on the button.”