“If Iran rejects, it will be bombed like they’ve never seen before”– Trump’s stark warning to Iran

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said Iran will be bombed if Tehran does not engage in a deal over its nuclear weapons. “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," Trump said in a comment aired Sunday by NBC News. He also threatened additional economic pressure through "secondary tariffs" to deter Iran’s nuclear program. However, despite his strong rhetoric, Trump acknowledged that Washington and Tehran are "talking," though he did not provide further details. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that Tehran rejected direct negotiations with the White House over its nuclear programme in Tehran's first response to President Donald Trump’s letter sent to the country's supreme leader earlier.

“We responded to the US president’s letter via Oman and rejected the option of direct talks, but we are open to indirect negotiations,” Pezeshkian said during a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Sunday. The Iranian president stressed that while Iran was not against negotiations, Washington must first rectify its past “misconduct” and rebuild trust.

Pezeshkian said that Iran's response to Trump’s earlier letter left open the possibility of indirect negotiations with Washington, adding that however, such talks have been unsuccessful during Trump’s first term in presidency as Trump withdrew America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. “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,” the Iranian president said in televised remarks during a Cabinet meeting.

Trump revealed in early March that he had sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in which he suggested talks with the Islamic Republic. “I said I hope you are going to negotiate because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network earlier. Trump told reporters he anticipated movement on the issue very soon. The contents of Trump’s letter to Iran have not been released