TRUMP CHALLENGES IRAN.
WASHINGTON • Donald Trump has escalated his sabre-rattling against Iran, raising the prospect of conflict and warning that threats against the United States would result in “historic consequences.”
Trump’s late-night announcement on Twitter appeared to be part of a coordinated strategy in Washington to send a message to the Iranian regime ahead of sanctions being reimposed.
The approach included a speech by Mike Pompeo, the U.S. secretary of state, lambasting Iran’s leaders as a “corrupt Mafia more than a government,” and describing perceived moderates such as President Hassan Rouhani as “wolves in sheeps’ clothing.”
Trump sent his Twitter message at 11:24 p.m. and it was directed at Rouhani. In capital letters, he wrote: “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 U.S. president was responding to comments on the weekend by Rouhani that “peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars.” In his speech on Sunday, Rouhani had also warned the U.S. to “not play with the lion’s tail or else you will regret it.”
The heightened tensions contributed to oil prices rising up to two per cent yesterday before falling back.
In May, the U.S. announced it was withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, aimed at preventing the country developing nuclear weapons.
It is due to reimpose banking sanctions next month, and others strangling Iran’s oil exports in November.
Rouhani has warned that, in response, Iran could shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for international oil supplies.
He has also suggested Iran could ramp up its production of uranium.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, said on Saturday that “negotiations with the United States are useless.”
Gholamhossein Gheybparvar, a senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, accused Trump of attempting “psychological warfare.”
Seed Leilaz, an Iranian analyst, said the war of words with Iran may prove “the storm before the calm.”