Trump blames Iran as war of words erupts
THE WHITE House has blamed Iranian president Hassan Rouhani for inciting a war of words with US leader Donald Trump, who warned that verbal threats could escalate into military conflict with America.
Mr Trump sent an all-capitals tweet late on Sunday warning of dire consequences for the longtime foe of the US.
“NEVER EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKE OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE”, he wrote.
He was responding to Mr Rouhani, who had remarked earlier that “America must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars”.
Within hours, Iran’s stateowned news agency IRNA dismissed Mr Trump’s tweet, describing it as a “passive reaction” to Mr Rouhani’s remarks.
The White House said the US president’s tweet shows he is not going to tolerate critical rhetoric from Iran and insisted Mr Trump is not escalating tensions between the two countries.
“If anybody’s inciting anything, look no further than to Iran,” press secretary Sarah Sanders said, adding that Mr Trump has been “very clear about what he’s not going to allow to take place”.
Iranian analyst Seed Leilaz downplayed the war of words, describing it as “the storm before the calm”.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the US president’s “strong stance”.