
Iran Rejects Talks with U.S., Warns Trump It Will Strike US Bases If America Attacks
Iran’s president said on Sunday, March 30, that the Islamic Republic rejected direct negotiations with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear program, offering Tehran’s first response to a letter President Donald Trump sent to the country’s supreme leader, according to American media.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s response, delivered via the sultanate of Oman, left open the possibility of indirect negotiations with Washington. The White House, the State Department, and other officials offered no immediate reaction to the announcement.
Meanwhile, earlier on Friday the speaker of the Iranian parliament said Tehran would strike US bases in the region if Washington follows through on its warning of military consequences for Iran in the absence of a new nuclear deal.
"If the Americans attack the sanctity of Iran, the entire region will blow up like a spark in an ammunition dump,” Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf said. "Their bases and those of their allies will not be safe," he added.
Iran has no effective air defenses after they were largely destroyed by Israel in retaliation for ballistic missile attacks last year. Iran is possibly gambling that Trump would not dare follow through on his recent threats of military action. (BB/VFI News)