From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 31, 2025
Responding to Trump’s threats, Iran’s Khamenei warns of ‘strong’ response if US attacks
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says the US will receive a “strong” blow if it acts on US President Donald Trump’s threat of “bombing” if Tehran does not reach a new nuclear deal with Washington.
“They threaten to do mischief,” Khamenei says during a live speech, referring to threats from the United States, adding that “if it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack.”
Trump threatened Iran yesterday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.
In Trump’s first remarks since Iran rejected direct negotiations with Washington last week, the US president said that US and Iranian officials were talking, but did not elaborate.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” Trump said in a telephone interview with NBC news. “It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”
Trump’s language represented a sharpening of his comment a few days earlier that if Tehran refused to negotiate a new nuclear agreement, “bad, bad things are going to happen to Iran.”
It was not clear whether Trump was threatening bombing by US planes alone or perhaps in an operation coordinated with Israel.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.