Iran ready to launch missiles for potential response after Trump’s ‘bombing’ threat, says report

Tehran: Hours after US President Donald Trump threatened Iran with bombing and secondary tariffs, the armed forces in Iran have reportedly readied missiles for a potential response to Washington.

In a post on Monday on X, Iranian army said, “Information received by the Tehran Times indicates that Iran’s missiles are loaded onto launchers in all underground missile cities and are ready for launch. Opening the Pandora’s box will come at a heavy cost for the US government and its allies.”

According to a report with the Tehran Times, a significant number of launch-ready missiles have been located in underground facilities scattered across the country.

Trump, on Sunday had threatened Iran with bombings and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear programme.

In his first remarks since Iran rejected direct negotiations with Washington last week, Trump told NBC News that the 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.

“It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”

“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.

In response, Iran sent a letter to Trump through Oman, urging Tehran to reach a new nuclear deal, saying its policy was to not engage in direct negotiations with the US while under its maximum pressure campaign and military threats, Tehran’s Foreign Minister was quoted as saying on Thursday.

In the interview, Trump also threatened so-called secondary tariffs, which affect buyers of a country’s goods, on both Russia and Iran.

He signed an executive order last week authorising such tariffs on buyers of Venezuelan oil.

Trump did not elaborate on those potential tariffs.

In his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran’s disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions. Since then, the Islamic Republic has far surpassed the agreed limits in its escalating program of uranium enrichment.

Tehran has so far rebuffed Trump’s warning to make a deal or face military consequences.

IANS