In a high-stakes interview aired Saturday evening, President Donald Trump issued a blunt warning to Iran, stating that if Tehran refuses to make a deal with the United States to halt its nuclear weapons ambitions, it will face bombing “the likes of which they have never seen before.”
“If they don’t make a deal,” Trump told NBC News, “there will be bombing.” He further stated that “U.S. and Iranian officials are talking,” suggesting back-channel diplomatic contacts are underway.
The remarks come amid growing tensions and follow recent disclosures of American military movements in the Indo-Pacific.
New satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs has confirmed the deployment of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to Diego Garcia, a strategically positioned U.S. military base in the Indian Ocean.
The March 25 imagery shows four B-2 aircraft on the runway, alongside at least seven KC-135 Stratotankers—aircraft used for aerial refueling. The presence of such assets, according to regional defense analysts, indicates preparations for long-range precision strike operations. These could potentially target hardened and dispersed nuclear infrastructure inside Iran, should diplomatic efforts collapse.
In a statement on Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian rejected direct negotiations with Washington. It was Tehran’s first public response to what sources describe as a “firm” letter sent by Trump to Iran’s Supreme Leader. Pezeshkian dismissed the prospect of direct talks while U.S. pressure continues, calling instead for indirect channels.
The U.S. Department of Defense has not officially commented on the purpose of the B-2 deployment. However, the U.S. Strategic Command previously confirmed the redeployment of B-2 bombers and tanker aircraft to Diego Garcia as part of routine global operations meant to “deter, detect and, if necessary, defeat strategic attacks against the United States and its allies.”
The presence of stealth bombers capable of carrying GBU-57 bunker-busting munitions, along with heightened rhetoric from both sides, has fueled concerns about a potential escalation in the Gulf region.