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Austria to Purchase 12 Italian Fighter Jets

Austrian Chancellor and head of People's Party (OeVP) Karl Nehammer looks on as he is on his way to coalition talks with the head of Social Democrats (SPOe) Andreas Babler and head of NEOS party Beate Meinl-Reisinger in Vienna, Austria, December 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Austrian Chancellor and head of People's Party (OeVP) Karl Nehammer looks on as he is on his way to coalition talks with the head of Social Democrats (SPOe) Andreas Babler and head of NEOS party Beate Meinl-Reisinger in Vienna, Austria, December 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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Austria to Purchase 12 Italian Fighter Jets

Austrian Chancellor and head of People's Party (OeVP) Karl Nehammer looks on as he is on his way to coalition talks with the head of Social Democrats (SPOe) Andreas Babler and head of NEOS party Beate Meinl-Reisinger in Vienna, Austria, December 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Austrian Chancellor and head of People's Party (OeVP) Karl Nehammer looks on as he is on his way to coalition talks with the head of Social Democrats (SPOe) Andreas Babler and head of NEOS party Beate Meinl-Reisinger in Vienna, Austria, December 20, 2024. (Reuters)

Austria plans to buy 12 Italian-made M-346 FA fighter jets to replace Saab 105 planes which it decommissioned at the end of 2020, the government said on Saturday.

Citing military sources, newspaper Krone said a letter of intent was due to be signed on Saturday with the Italian Defense Ministry for the planes made by Italy's Leonardo.

The contract is currently being negotiated with the Italian government, the Austrian Defense Ministry said, confirming the planned purchase of the aircraft.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said the deal showed the strength of cooperation between Italy and Austria.

"My special thanks go to (Italian) Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who made a significant contribution to the conclusion of this agreement," Nehammer said in a statement.

The total cost of the purchase has yet to be determined, but about 1 billion euros ($1.04 billion) has been budgeted for it, the newspaper said.

The jets will be used for pilot training, support for ground forces and air defense, the government said.

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Trump Threatens Bombing if Iran Does Not Make Nuclear Deal

An Iranian painter repaints one of the famous anti-US murals in Tehran, Iran, 29 March 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Trump Threatens Bombing if Iran Does Not Make Nuclear Deal

An Iranian painter repaints one of the famous anti-US murals in Tehran, Iran, 29 March 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An Iranian painter repaints one of the famous anti-US murals in Tehran, Iran, 29 March 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

US President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.
In Trump's first remarks since Iran rejected direct negotiations with Washington last week, he told NBC News that US and Iranian officials were talking, but did not elaborate.
"If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing," Trump said in a telephone interview, according to Reuters. "It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before."
"There's a chance that if they don't make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago," he added.
Iran sent a response through Oman to a letter from Trump urging Tehran to reach a new nuclear deal, saying its policy was to not engage in direct negotiations with the United States while under its maximum pressure campaign and military threats, Tehran's foreign minister was quoted as saying on Thursday.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated the policy on Sunday. "Direct negotiations (with the US) have been rejected, but Iran has always been involved in indirect negotiations, and now too, the Supreme Leader has emphasized that indirect negotiations can still continue," he said, referring to Ali Khamenei.
In the NBC interview, Trump also threatened so-called secondary tariffs, which affect buyers of a country's goods, on both Russia and Iran. He signed an executive order last week authorizing such tariffs on buyers of Venezuelan oil.
Trump did not elaborate on those potential tariffs.
In his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions. Since then, Tehran has far surpassed the agreed limits in its escalating program of uranium enrichment.
Tehran has so far rebuffed Trump's warning to make a deal or face military consequences.