U.S. President Donald Trump issued a Twitter threat against Iran and their president Hassan Rouhani. Reports on July 22 said that President Rouhani told a group of Iranian diplomats that the U.S. would face the “mother of all wars” but also said that peace was possible between the two countries.
Hours later, Trump tweeted, in all caps, “To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!”
The Reuters reports says that says that Rouhani was speaking at a government meeting where he said, “America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars. You are not in a position to incite the Iranian nation against Iran’s security and interests.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reported by Al Jazeera to have backed Rouhani’s earlier statements to disrupt regional oil shipments. Rouhani said on July 3 that Iran would do its best to cause disruption to the regions oil shipments if the U.S. interfered with Iran’s oil dealings.
On May 8, Donald Trump announced that the United States would be withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, ending the positive diplomatic relations between the two countries that had been created by President Obama. Trump’s last message prior to his threat to Iran on Twitter was also in reference to President Obama. Trump tweeted, “So President Obama knew about Russia before the Election. Why didn’t he do something about it? Why didn’t he tell our campaign? Because it is all a big hoax, that’s why, and he thought Crooked Hillary was going to win!!!”
In the days before Trump’s tweet, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told an Iranian group in California that Iran’s government leaders were nothing more than “polished front men.”
