Trump To Iran’s President Rouhani: ‘NEVER, EVER THREATEN’ The U.S. Again
President Trump threatened Iran in a late-night tweet on Sunday, responding angrily after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani criticized Trump and warned the American president not to “play with the lion’s tail” and that “war with Iran is the mother of all wars.”
Trump’s tweet, posted in all-capital letters: “NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE.”
He declared, “WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!”
At a gathering of Iranian diplomats in Tehran on Sunday, according to Iran’s state news agency, Rouhani said, “America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars.”
Iran can defend itself, Rouhani added, hinting that his country could also affect oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf if it were to come under attack.
As for how Trump’s response has been received, Iran’s state news agency said the tweet was typical of the American president’s “bullying words.”
NPR’s Peter Kenyon reports some people have pointed out that “you can’t really do all-caps in Persian, that doesn’t quite translate. But no mistaking the threatening nature of the message.”
Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee tweeted a retort to the president’s message, saying, “DON’T BE DISTRACTED BY ALL CAPS. WE’RE NOT ATTACKING IRAN.”
They then urged Trump to hold Russia responsible for interfering in the 2016 U.S. election.
Also on Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo launched a blistering attack on Iran in remarks at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.
Pompeo accused Iran of corruption and mismanagement at the highest levels and said the country had backed terrorist attacks in Europe even as it tried to reassure EU members that Iran will follow restrictions in their nuclear agreement.
In pointed remarks, Pompeo said Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, controls a hedge fund valued at $95 billion — a fund called the Setad (and on which Reuters did a special report in 2013).
“That wealth is untaxed, it is ill-gotten, and it is used as a ‘slush fund’ for the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps],” Pompeo said. “The level of corruption and wealth among Iranian leaders shows that Iran is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government.”
Pompeo also tweeted a succession of messages in Farsi, trying to bring his message directly to any Iranians able to skirt their country’s censors. In them, he said Iran’s 1979 revolution had borne “bitter fruit.”
Read More: NPR – Trump To Iran’s President Rouhani: ‘NEVER, EVER THREATEN’ The U.S. Again
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