Iran Ready To Defend Territory From US After Trump Ultimatum

NEWSWEEK -April4th2025

Iran is ready to defend itself against any attack, its President Masoud Pezeshkian has said, in an apparent response to U.S. President Donald Trump‘s ultimatum over a new nuclear deal.

“President Trump has been clear: The United States will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. He has expressed his willingness to pursue an agreement with Iran,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Newsweek.

Newsweek contacted Iran’s Foreign Ministry for comment.

Why It Matters

Tensions between the United States and Iran are intensifying amid stalled negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program and a warning from Trump that military action remains on the table if a deal isn’t reached by his deadline.

The ongoing deadlock raises the risk of direct conflict between the U.S. and Iran in an already unstable Middle East, where an American aircraft carrier strike group is leading a U.S. military operation against the Houthi militants in Yemen.

What To Know

“We do not seek war with any country, but we have no hesitation in defending ourselves, and our readiness and capability in this regard are at the highest level,” Pezeshkian told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a Trump ally, in a call, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported Friday.

The U.S. will launch military strikes on Tehran if its leaders do not engage in talks with Washington on limiting its nuclear program, Trump said on Sunday. “It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before,” he said.”

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told Newsweek by email: “If the Iranian regime does not want a deal. The President is clear he will pursue alternatives that will be very bad for Iran.”

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