Iran-US nuclear deal: Tehran readying missiles over Donald Trump’s ‘bombing’ threat?

Hours after United States President Donald Trump warned Iran of bombings over the nuclear deal, Iran has, reportedly, readied its missiles to strike “US-related positions”. According to Tehran Times, Iran has put its missiles in ready-to-launch mode in underground facilities in the country.

On Sunday, Trump had told NBC News that if Tehran did not reach an agreement with the US over its nuclear programme, there will be bombings, and also added that secondary tariffs would be imposed if a deal was not made.

He had also told reporters, while flying from Florida to Washington on Sunday evening, that if Iran did not come to the negotiating table, "it’s going to be a bad situation".

In his first term as president, Trump had withdrawn the US from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the Iran nuclear deal. The agreement had imposed strict restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in return for relief in sanctions.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – the UN's nuclear watchdog – in a report in February, had said that Iran has accelerated its production of near weapon-grade uranium.

The Trump administration has reiterated that it remains open to talks but stressed that Iran must show intent to limit its nuclear programme.

Earlier, while responding to Trump's letter on fresh negotiations to resolve the nuclear crisis, Iran had ruled out direct negotiations with the US but had indicated its willingness to continue indirect talks. "We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had said in televised remarks during a Cabinet meeting. “They (US) must prove that they can build trust.”

The “US-related positions” referred to in the Tehran Times report are probably the American bases in the Middle East, which the Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf termed as “vulnerable to Iran's attacks”.

Interestingly, Iran had recently released a video, showing its underground missile facility, which is called the "missile city" by Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).