By Doina Chiacu and David Ljunggren
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran didn’t come to an settlement with Washington over its nuclear program.
In Trump’s first remarks since Iran rejected direct negotiations with Washington final week, he advised NBC Information that U.S. and Iranian officers had been speaking, however didn’t elaborate.
“If they do not make a deal, there might be bombing,” Trump stated in a phone interview. “It is going to be bombing the likes of which they’ve by no means seen earlier than.”
“There’s an opportunity that if they do not make a deal, that I’ll do secondary tariffs on them like I did 4 years in the past,” he added.
Iran despatched a response via Oman to a letter from Trump urging Tehran to succeed in a brand new nuclear deal, saying its coverage was to not interact in direct negotiations with the USA whereas underneath its most stress marketing campaign and navy threats, Tehran’s international minister was quoted as saying on Thursday.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated the coverage on Sunday. “Direct negotiations (with the U.S.) have been rejected, however Iran has at all times been concerned in oblique negotiations, and now too, the Supreme Chief has emphasised that oblique negotiations can nonetheless proceed,” he stated, referring to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Within the NBC interview, Trump additionally threatened so-called secondary tariffs, which have an effect on consumers of a rustic’s items, on each Russia and Iran. He signed an govt order final week authorizing such tariffs on consumers of Venezuelan oil.
Trump didn’t elaborate on these potential tariffs.
In his first 2017-21 time period, Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that positioned strict limits on Tehran’s disputed nuclear actions in alternate for sanctions reduction.
Trump additionally reimposed sweeping U.S. sanctions. Since then, the Islamic Republic has far surpassed the agreed limits in its escalating program of uranium enrichment.
Tehran has to date rebuffed Trump’s warning to make a deal or face navy penalties.
Western powers accuse Iran of getting a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons functionality by enriching uranium to a excessive stage of fissile purity, above what they are saying is justifiable for a civilian atomic power program.
Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian power functions.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and David Ljunggren in Washington; Elwely Elwelly and Parisa Hafezi in Dubai; Modifying by David Ljunggren and Rod Nickel)
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