Trump threatens Iran with bombing if it does not agree to nuclear talks

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump threatened Iran Sunday with unprecedented bombing if it did not agree to engage with Washington in negotiations over its nuclear program, marking the most explicit warning of military action since he assumed office in January.

"If they don't make a deal there will be bombing. It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before," Trump said during an interview with NBC News.

Earlier Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly said Tehran rejected direct negotiations with the US over its nuclear program, confirming that Iran had sent its formal response to a letter from Trump to supreme leader Ali Khamenei seeking direct talks.

Pezeshkian left open the possibility of indirect negotiations, however.

Trump has for months sought to publicly pressure Iran to engage in direct talks, and had previously vaguely hinted at "very bad" repercussions if Tehran rejected the overture.

During his first term in office, Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal brokered between world powers and Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and reimposed sweeping sanctions on Tehran.

Despite complying with the nuclear agreement for over a year after the US withdrawal, Iran gradually reduced its commitments, citing the failure of the deal’s remaining signatories to protect its interests.