Michael Hernandez
28 March 2025•Update: 28 March 2025
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Friday with "very bad" repercussions if it continues to reject talks with the US over its nuclear program.
"I sent them a letter just recently, and I said, 'you're gonna have to make a decision one way or the other, and we're gonna either have to talk and talk it out, or very bad things are gonna happen to Iran.' And I don't want that to happen," Trump told reporters at the White House during a swearing-in ceremony.
"I don’t say this through strength or weakness, but my big preference is we work it out with Iran. But if we don't work it out, bad bad things are going to happen to Iran," he added.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi confirmed Thursday that Tehran has sent its response to Trump, saying the Islamic Republic's "viewpoints regarding the status quo and Mr. Trump’s letter have been fully laid out and relayed to the other side."
Araqchi reiterated Iran’s opposition to direct talks with the US amid Trump’s “maximum pressure campaign.”
“Iran’s policy is to engage in indirect negotiations as long as the Islamic Republic is subjected to maximum pressure and military threats," he said. “Indirect negotiations, though, can continue, as they existed in the past."
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced what he called “bullying tactics” after Trump’s threats.
"The insistence of some bullying powers on holding talks with Iran does not aim to solve issues but rather aims to assert and impose their own expectations,” said Khamenei. "Absolutely, the Islamic Republic will not accept their expectations."
In 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal brokered between world powers and Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and reimposed 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.
