CAN YOU HEAR US?

To President Donald Trump: TWEETING IN ALL-CAPS AT IRANIAN PRESIDENT HASSAN ROUHANI TO TELL HIM “YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE” IF HE DARE “THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN” IS FURTHER EVIDENCE OF YOUR INSTABILITY.

And a sign that you have learned nothing from your hollow, hollering threat last year to unleash “fire and fury like the world has never seen” against North Korea.

Ironically, Rouhani's offense was to warn of the risks of attempting to force regime change in Tehran.

“You declare war and then you speak of wanting to support the Iranian people,” he had said. “America must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars.”

We do not trust Iran's leaders. They arm terrorists. They want to annihilate Israel. They have sought, and still want, nuclear weapons.

But, likely to distract from his many troubles, Trump treated a fairly routine statement — that American military action against Tehran would be met with fierce resistance — as unprovoked aggression. And answered it by escalating tensions further.

We've seen this bomb of a movie before. Last August, Trump told Kim Jong Un that any further bombast from the North Korean dictator would trigger an American attack.

Of course, it didn't. The word of the American President was diminished. It was then damaged further by a meeting of high pageantry between Trump and Kim, after which Trump essentially declared victory in solving the North Korean nuclear problem.

There are two possibilities this time, and we will put them in terms Trump can understand:

EITHER THE PRESIDENT HAS NO PLANS TO ORDER THE U.S. MILITARY TO STRIKE IRAN THE NEXT TIME IT ASSERTS ITS INTENT TO PROTECT ITSELF FROM REGIME CHANGE, AND HE JUST DIMINISHED AMERICA'S CREDIBILITY. OR HE DOES PLAN TO ORDER OUR ARMED FORCES TO UNLEASH HELL ON IRAN THE NEXT TIME ITS LEADER ASSERTS THE RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF.

WHICH IS IT?