Earlier, US President Donald Trump threatened "bombing the likes of which they have never seen before" in an interview with NBC News if the US and Iran did not reach an agreement. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran, in a response letter to Trump, had refused Washington direct negotiations on the nuclear program, the window for negotiations was open only with the mediation of third countries.
In early March, Trump said that he had sent a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in which he stipulated that he would prefer to conclude a deal with Tehran on the Iranian nuclear program. Subsequently, the US president noted that Washington was considering two possible ways to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue — military or diplomatic, emphasizing that he prefers negotiations.