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Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Monday that the United States will face a "strong blow" if it acts on President Donald Trump's threats of "possible bombing," if Iran fails to agree to a new nuclear deal with Washington.
"They threaten to do mischief," Khamenei said in a live speech, referring to US threats. "If it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack," he added.
This statement came after Trump warned of "possible bombing" and secondary tariffs if Iran rejects the US-proposed nuclear deal.
In an NBC News telephone interview on Sunday, Trump indicated a timeline of several weeks for Iran to comply, stating that further actions would depend on the deal's progress.
"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.
"There's a chance that if they don't make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago," he added.
Trump also struck a conciliatory tone, saying Iran might accept the deal but warned that if they don't, things will "not be pretty."
"But we'll see what happens... I can't imagine them doing anything else but making a deal. I would prefer a deal to the other alternative, which I think everybody on this plane knows what that is, and that's not going to be pretty. And I do not prefer that," the US President continued.
Tensions between the US and Iran have escalated since Trump's return to office, as his administration remains firm on preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
In his previous term, Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at limiting Iran's nuclear program, later accusing Tehran of non-compliance. The agreement also included China, Russia, France, Germany, Britain, and the European Union, Politico reported.
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