Trump said on Sunday that he would order military strikes against Iran if Tehran did not strike a new deal with Washington on its nuclear program. “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” he said in an interview with NBC News.

In a post on X on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei blasted Trump’s comment as a “shocking affront” to international peace and security.

“An open threat of ‘bombing’ by a Head of State against Iran ... violates the United Nations Charter and betrays the Safeguards under the IAEA,” Baqaei wrote. “Violence breeds violence, peace begets peace. The U.S. can choose the course… and [face the] CONSEQUENCES.”

Earlier in the day, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei warned that if Washington commits any hostile act against Iran, “it will certainly receive a heavy blow in return.”

Trump sent a letter to Iran via an emissary from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 12, requesting that negotiations be opened into a deal. On February 4, the U.S. president had signed a presidential memorandum to restore a hostile policy from his first term of “maximum pressure” on the Islamic Republic. Back then, he had pulled out of a multinational deal with Iran.

Iran, which has relayed its response to Trump’s letter via Oman, has ruled out direct negotiations with Washington under pressure but has said it is open to indirect talks.