Tensions between the US and Iran are escalating quickly. Both sides are trading threats and mobilizing military assets in conflicts with Iran's nuclear program. On Sunday, President Donald Trump issued his most direct warning, but both US deployments and Iran's missile activities point to a new stage of danger.
Trump's threat
In a phone interview with NBC News on Sunday, Trump made the warning clear.
If they (Iran) don't make a deal, there will be bombing. They'll bomb things they've never seen before.
The comments marked a sharp escalation from his previous threat a few days ago.
The worst, bad things will happen to Iran.
Trump also floated “secondary tariffs” on Iranian oil if an agreement was not reached, but he did not provide details.
Iran answers
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pushed back on Monday. According to Reuters, he said,
Hostility from the United States and Israel has always been there. They are threatening to attack us, and I don't think that's much of a thought, but if they commit a prank, they certainly get a strong mutual blow.
Iran also issued a formal warning to the Swiss embassy in Tehran. It represents the interests of the United States and serves as an intermediary between the two counties. Iranian state media, cited by Reuters, said Tehran had vowed to “respond to the attacks in a decisive and immediate manner.”
Alert missile
In addition to returning a rhetorical threat, Iran reportedly moved the ballistic missile to its launch location.
Posted by Tehran Times, the English newspaper affiliated with the state:
Iranian missiles are loaded into launchers of all underground missiles (sites) and ready for launch.
The outlet said it would pay a “heavy cost” if the US and its allies “open Pandora's box.”
Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, aerospace commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), added a pointy threat to the US forces in the region.
The Americans have 10 (military) bases in the area, with an army of 50,000 people, particularly Iran and based there… This means they are sitting in a glass house. And when sitting in a glass house, a person does not throw stones at other people.
Playing letter
On March 7, Trump revealed that he had sent a letter directly to Khamenei about the Fox business. Message: “Make a deal” or face military consequences.
According to a leak from Emirati Statesman Abdolkhalegh Abdollah, the letter requested:
The complete dismantling of Iran's nuclear programme disbanded Iraq's hashdorabi militia negotiations held in the United Arab Emirates, with a halt to the end of uranium enrichment of support for Usis and Hezbollah.
In exchange, Trump offered to lift the sanctions and end Iran's so-called international isolation. Iran was given a two-month deadline to comply with, as there is an implicit warning of military action if an agreement was not reached.
Iran's rebellion
A few days later, Khamenei refused to receive the letter and dismissed Trump's offer as “bullying.” According to Iranian media, he said,
We sat down and negotiated for several years. This person took the completed, finalized and signed contract from the table and tore it.
However, on March 22, Trump's Middle Eastern envoy Steve Witkov argued that Iran had responded and accepted indirect consultations.
On March 30, Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian confirmed that Iran had responded via Oman. He ruled out the in person, but left room for indirect talk, and condemned the promises of past past breaking down trust.
Accumulation of the US military
In the meantime, the US is running on heavy assets.
According to Axios, the B-2 stealth bomber was deployed at Diego Garcia, a key US base in the Indian Ocean. US officials said the move was “not cut off” from Trump's two-month deadline.
Satellite imagery and flight data confirm the arrival of at least four B-2s. According to some reports, up to seven may be in place.
War zones and open source analysts have tracked down multiple C-17 cargo planes landing at bases. A 10 kc-135 strato tanker was also discovered, boosting the extent of the bomber fleet.
Meanwhile, US fighters continue to slam their targets of Yemeni Hooty. Officially, Strike is targeting the Rebels. However, critics say this is part of a wider pressure campaign on Iran and its proxy.
Iran's nuclear weapon?
The Trump threat arises as explicitly stated in the annual threat assessment issued by the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), despite the US intelligence agency saying Iran had not built a bomb earlier this month.
Still, Iran is enriching uranium to 60%. That's far above the civilian level, but below the 90% required for weapons.
If Khamenei gives green light, Iran can enrich its uranium into weapon grade within a week. Assembling a bomb can take weeks to months.
Redefine the threat
Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz has been promoting a broader view of Iran's “nuclear program.” In an ABC interview on March 16th, Waltz said the issue is far beyond enrichment.
That's all aspects of Iran's program. It's missiles, weaponization, enrichment.
That definition is now official US policy. In early February, as part of a revived “maximum pressure” campaign in Iran, Trump signed a memorandum of understanding from the National Security President redefines Iran's nuclear program to include all nuclear fuel processing and “nuclearly responding” missiles.
The whole picture
The escalation is in stark contrast to the rhetoric of Trump's campaign. Just a few months ago, he vowed, “There will be no more eternal war.” Now the supporters have cast their current maneuver as another round of “5D Chess.” This is a calibrated force show aimed at bringing Tehran back to the negotiation table without firing a shot.
But critics see worn-out scripts: inflate the threat, position the military assets, then wait for provocation, or engineer.
There is also a high legal interest. The US Constitution gives the authority to declare war in Congress, not in the White House. An unauthorized preemptive strike aims to avoid that framework again, further erode the constitutional guardrail and prevent unilateral wars in the administrative sector.
After decades of tragic intervention – wars that emitted Treasury, promoted domestic inflation, shattered trust and destabilized the entire region, the appetite for another conflict has long been worsening among everyday Americans. Trump positioned himself as a candidate who could break the status quo and won.
However, to put “America First,” we need more than a slogan. It demands the spine to resist military adventures, even when pressure is on from home and from strong lobbies abroad.
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