Rouhani to Trump: Don’t play with the lion’s tail
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged the U.S. not to provoke Tehran, saying that conflict with the country would be ‘the mother of all wars’
President Hasan Rouhani on Sunday cautioned U.S. President Donald Trump about pursuing hostile policies against Tehran, saying, “America should know... war with Iran is the mother of all wars,” in a televised speech at a gathering of Iranian diplomats in Tehran.
IRAN’S President Hassan Rouhani warned the United States not to “play with the lion’s tail” yesterday, saying that conflict with Iran would be the “mother of all wars.” Addressing his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in a televised speech, Rouhani said, “You declare war and then you speak of wanting to support the Iranian people. You cannot provoke the Iranian people against their own security and interests.”
At the gathering of Iranian diplomats in Tehran, Rouhani repeated his warning that Iran could shut down the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for international oil supplies.
“We have always guaranteed the security of this strait. Do not play with the lion’s tail, you will regret it forever,” he said. “Peace with Iran would be the mother of all peace and war with Iran would be the mother of all wars.”
Rouhani spoke ahead of a much-trailed speech by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday evening, seen as part of Washington’s efforts to foment unrest against the Islamic government in Iran.
The U.S. is seeking to tighten the economic screws on Iran, abandoning a landmark 2015 nuclear deal and re-imposing stringent sanctions. Washington has also launched concerted propaganda efforts in Iran, including social media campaigns, designed to exacerbate popular discontent.
“Whenever Europe has sought an agreement with us, the White House has sown discord” Rouhani said. But he added, “We must not think that the White House will remain forever at this level of opposition to international law, against the Muslim world.”
In Washington, U.S. officials familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Trump administration has launched an offensive of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest and help pressure Iran to end its nuclear program.
The Trump administration has vowed to confront Iran much more aggressively in the region where it shares the Saudi view that Tehran is fomenting instability via a number of proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen among other countries. Tehran denies the allegations.
Referring to Iran as “the number one terrorist state,” Trump said the Middle Eastern country supplies money and weapons to terrorist groups. The Trump administration hit the ground running, re-imposing sanctions against Iran in its first weeks in office and also instating restrictions against those who are complicit with Tehran.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday backed Rouhani’s suggestion that Iran may block Gulf oil exports if its own exports are halted. Rouhani’s apparent threat earlier this month to disrupt oil shipments from neighboring countries came in reaction to efforts by Washington to force all countries to stop buying Iranian oil.
Iranian officials have in the past threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for any hostile U.S. action. Separately, a top Iranian military commander warned that the Trump government might be preparing to invade Iran.
“The enemy’s behavior is unpredictable,” military chief of staff General Mohammad Baqeri said, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
“Although the current American government does not seem to speak of a military threat, according to precise information it has been trying to persuade the U.S. military to launch a military invasion [of Iran],” Baqeri said.
Iran’s oil exports could fall by as much as two-thirds by the end of the year because of new U.S. sanctions, putting oil markets under huge strain amid supply outages elsewhere.
Washington initially planned to totally shut Iran out of global oil markets after Trump abandoned the deal that limited Iran’s nuclear ambitions, demanding all other countries to stop buying its crude by November. But it has somewhat eased its stance since, saying that it may grant sanction waivers to some allies that are particularly reliant on Iranian supplies.