Washington warns Iran of 'severe consequences' if it rejects US proposed nuclear deal

The Trump administration is warning Iran of “severe consequences” if it rejects Washington’s nuclear deal proposal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

“If they don’t accept these terms, it’s not going to be a good day for the Iranians,” an unnamed senior U.S. official told the WSJ.

The U.S. proposal, which is defined as a “term sheet,” is reportedly intended as Washington’s foundation for a broader framework aimed at addressing the Iranian nuclear threat through diplomatic channels.

U.S. President Donald Trump has stated repeatedly that he will not allow the Iranian regime to acquire nuclear weapons capability. While Trump has signaled that he prefers a diplomatic solution, he has not ruled out military force if diplomacy fails to prevent the regime from racing toward the nuclear bomb.

Iran, which labels the United States as the “Great Satan,” refers to Israel as the “Little Satan” and openly calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.

As Washington and Tehran continue discussions over a potential nuclear deal, Israel has increasingly signaled its readiness to launch a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities should diplomatic efforts fail to neutralize the threat.

Trump recently acknowledged that he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from ordering an IDF strike on Iran amid the ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

“Well, I’d like to be honest. Yes, I did… I told [Netanyahu] this would be very inappropriate to do right now because we’re very close to a solution,” Trump said during a press conference.

However, the president stressed that a military strike could potentially become relevant in the near future.

“That could change at any moment. It could change with a phone call. But right now, I think [Iran] wants to make a deal, and if we can make a deal, [that would] save a lot of lives,” Trump said.

Israel publicly endorses Trump’s effort to address the Iranian nuclear threat through diplomatic means. However, Jerusalem appears to believe that Tehran is unwilling to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions.

Trump has remained upbeat concerning the prospects of reaching a deal with the Iranian regime, despite reported significant differences in the U.S. and Iranian positions. The Trump administration demands an end to Iranian nuclear enrichment while Tehran insists on continuing the enrichment of uranium close to military-grade level.

While there have reportedly been some recent tensions between Washington and Jerusalem on the Iranian nuclear issue, Trump has simultaneously leveraged the prospect of an Israeli-led military strike as a stick against Tehran in the ongoing negotiations.

Iran’s regional rival, Saudi Arabia, has also reportedly urged the ayatollah regime to make a deal with the Trump administration or risk facing a destructive war with Israel. Last month, Saudi Arabia’s defense minister, Prince Khalid, reportedly explicitly warned the Iranian regime of a potentially dangerous war with Israel if Tehran refused Trump’s offer.

Israeli officials do not believe the Iranian regime is negotiating with Washington in good faith but seeks to drag out the negotiations until it reaches nuclear weapons capability. Trump has emphasized that his offer is not open-ended and that he will not engage in prolonged negotiations with Tehran.

The Iranian regime consequently faces a dilemma. On one hand, Tehran is committed to its nuclear weapons ambitions. On the other hand, the ayatollah regime is at its weakest point since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran in 1979.

Iran's economy is imploding following decades of mismanagement by the regime and international sanctions. Furthermore, the ayatollah regime is unpopular at home and Tehran’s largest terror proxies – Hamas and Hezbollah – have been severely degraded during the ongoing war with Israel. The collapse of the Assad regime in Syria in December 2024 further weakened the ayatollah regime.

Western military experts have also emphasized that the Israeli Air Force’s severe degradation of Iran’s aerial defense systems in October 2024, has left Tehran vulnerable to future potential Israeli or American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and high value regime assets.