US President Donald Trump has given a chilling two-month deadline to fall into line and strike up a new nuclear agreement – or face the consequences.
The Republican has also warned Tehran to immediately cease its support for the Houthi rebels – Iran‘s major proxy terror group – in Yemen, reports claim.
President Donald Trump signs documents as he issues executive orders and pardons in the Oval Office[/caption]
Iranian leader Ali Khamenei delivered a speech during a programme at Imam Khomeini Hosseiniyeh in Tehran[/caption]
A mid-range surface-to-surface Emad missile being launched at an undisclosed location in Iran[/caption]
In a chilling letter delivered to Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on March 7, Trump suggested direct negotiations of a fresh nuclear agreement between the two counties.
But he also made a chilling warning of the consequences if Iran were to reject the offer and continues to advance its nuclear programme dubbed Axios, reports claim.
The same day the letter was sent, Trump admitted to Fox Business that the US was “down to the final moments” with Iran, adding that there would be “interesting days ahead” having “written them a letter”.
He added that if a deal wasn’t made, Iran would have to face the US “militarily”.
According to US officials and sources, the letter was “tough,” and was delivered by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff directly to the UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed.
His representative Anwar Gargash then passed it on to the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi.
Various US allies, including Israel, were briefed on the chilling contents of the letter before it was delivered, a US official revealed.
It comes after the bombshell phone call between Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, where the leaders agreed Iran shouldn’t be allowed to acquire weapons that would allow it to destroy Israel.
Within the nearly two hour call the pair shared, they “spoke broadly about the Middle East” in order to “prevent future conflicts,” according to the US readout.
It added: “They further discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons and will engage with others to ensure the broadest possible application.
“The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel.”
Khamenei reportedly initially brushed off Trump’s letter as “a deception” to attempt to make Iran seem unwilling to negotiate.
But the country’s UN mission later said that it didn’t look to dismiss discussions on “potential militarisation” of its nuke plans, but also rejected talks that looked to dismantle its “peaceful nuclear programme”.
Meanwhile, Trump turned screws on Iran separately via Truth Social regarding its support for Houthi rebels, writing that “Iran must stop the sending of these Supplies IMMEDIATELY.”
Suggesting that without Iran backing the terror group would be defeated rapidly, the Republican added: “Let the Houthis fight it out themselves.
“Tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians, and watch how it will get progressively worse – it’s not even a fair fight, and never will be.
“They will be completely annihilated!”
Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz also said that Iran has to “hand over and give up” all elements of its Axios nuclear programme or chillingly face “a whole series of other consequences”.
Iran’s foreign ministry said that the letter is still being looked at and a response is being drafted.
Satellite images reportedly show a secret missile site in Shahrud, Iran[/caption]
Images show the Semnan site after the underground facility was covered with earth in 2012[/caption]
Qaem 100 is an Iranian expendable, small-lift, space launch vehicle developed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)[/caption]
On Monday, Trump threatened to hold Iran accountable for “every shot” the Houthis fire in the future – just hours after a US warship was attacked in the Red Sea.
The Houthi rebels – Iran’s major proxy terror group – claimed to have twice attacked the American aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its accompanying warships within 24 hours.
The terror group has also announced a ban on all US vessels from passing the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, southern Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Gulf of Aden.
In an empty threat, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said his militants would target US military ships in the Red Sea as long as the US continued its attacks on Yemen.
In response, Trump today said that he will hold Iran directly responsible for any future attacks by Houthi rebels.
He wrote in a post on the Trust Social: “Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences.
Trump even appeared to threaten strikes on Iran, saying the regime has long played “the innocent victim”.
The president blasted: “Any further attack or retaliation by the Houthis will be met with great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there.
“Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control.”
Iran’s nuclear development
Exclusive by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital)
IRAN is believed to have accelerated its nuclear weapons development and is building terrifying nuclear warheads for solid-fuel missiles with a range exceeding 1,800 miles (3,000km).
A powerful blast from Iran could impact on several continents due to the chilling capability of the warheads.
Italy, Ukraine, Sudan, India and even large swaths of Russia would all potentially be in the firing line.
They are being developed at two sites in Shahrud and Semnan, which were previously pinned as rocket or space satellite launch sites.
A third site, Sorkheh Hesar, is also said to be carrying out projects, including research on nuclear power and underground explosions.
Nukes are being quickly created under the watchful eye of the regime’s nuclear weaponization entity, the Organization for Advanced Defense Research (SPND).
Bosses are developing nuclear warheads for the solid-fuel Ghaem-100 missiles, which are equipped with mobile launch platforms at the Shahrud site.
Iran’s rocket designers have used North Korea’s missiles as a guide to develop the Ghaem-100 missile.
When the missile was in a very early testing stage in 2011, dozens of missile experts were killed at the Modarres site in Tehran.
Personnel vehicles are banned from entering the Shahrud site and are forced to park at a checkpoint before people are transported in.
Meanwhile, they are using the liquid fuel missile Simorgh to develop nuclear warheads in Semnan.
Iran has staged three successful Ghaem-100 missile launches over the past two years, enhancing the regime’s capability to deploy nuclear weapons.
