Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier said the Islamic regime is declining direct negotiations with the United States over its fast-track nuclear program.
President Donald Trump on March 30 threatened Iran with secondary tariffs and military strikes if Tehran does not reach an agreement with Washington regarding its nuclear program.
Trump reportedly told NBC News via a Sunday telephone interview that U.S. and Iranian officials are in discussions but did not offer further details.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” Trump said. “But there’s a chance that if they don’t make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago.”
The White House reposted the NBC report on the call. The Epoch Times has made a request for a transcript of the interview.
.@POTUS on Iran: "If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing — and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before." pic.twitter.com/G3rtlUUYfJ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 30, 2025
The remarks were made after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on March 30 that the Islamic regime is declining direct negotiations with the United States regarding its fast-track nuclear program. The comment was his nation’s response to a letter that Trump sent Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier this month.
Pezeshkian delivered the response via the sultanate of Oman, and left open the chance of indirect negotiations with the United States. Those talks have been stagnant since Trump withdrew the United States from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 during his first term.
The possibility of U.S. military actions against Iran’s nuclear program remains on the table as the United States continues airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
“We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,” Pezeshkian said during a televised Cabinet meeting. “They must prove that they can build trust.”
Iran’s rial currency has plummeted since Trump’s reelection and the continuation of his “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran. Pezeshkian had left discussions with the United States on the table until Khamenei, 85, criticized Trump in February, warning that conversations with Washington “are not intelligent, wise, or honorable.”
Afterward, the Iranian president toughened his own comments regarding America.
