THE PREZINATOR
Trump vs. Arnold, Berkeley, Iran, Australia . . .
Just another day for President Trump: Mocking Arnold Schwarzenegger for low ratings, threatening funding for Berkeley, fighting with foreign leaders and more.
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President Trump ratcheted up his war of words with Iran on Thursday, refusing to rule out using US military force against the Islamic republic.
“Nothing’s off the table,” Trump said after a meeting with Harley-Davidson execs, when a reporter shouted a question asking whether military action was a possibility.
The comment came just hours after the commander in chief took to Twitter to warn that Iran is “on notice” for launching its second ballistic missile in apparent violation of a UN resolution.
“Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile. Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them,” the president tweeted.
Reuters reported on Thursday that the US is expected to impose sanctions on multiple Iranian entities as early as Friday, but in a way that will not violate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
One source said about eight Iranian entities would be sanctioned, or “designated,” in US legal jargon, for terrorismrelated activities — and about 17 for ballistic missile-related activities under separate existing US executive orders. The source declined to name the entities. The acting commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard responded to Trump by saying Tehran wouldn’t be intimidated.
Iran will “never change direction by a world power’s demand, and our missile and non-missile power will be updated every day,” Gen. Hossein Salami told the Tasnim News Agency.
A top aide to Iran’s supreme leader blamed the “inexperienced” Trump administration for the threats and vowed his country would continue testing ballistic missiles, according to NBC.
“This is not the first time that an inexperienced person has threatened Iran,” said It was a busy day for President Trump — who was embroiled in five separate battles in as many hours. The drama began with the leaked transcripts of contentious phone conversations between the commander in chief and the leaders of Mexico and Australia. At 6:13 a.m., the president took to Twitter to threaten to strip federal funding from the University of California, Berkeley. That was followed by a tweet putting Iran “on notice” for its ballistic-missile tests. Hours later at a DC breakfast, the president requested prayers for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s low ratings as the replacement host of Trump’s “The Celebrity Apprentice.” “Whether by design or impulse, seems @POTUS is starting fires everywhere by the hour, making it hard for opponents to know where to aim hose,” former Obama chief strategist David Axelrod noted on Twitter. Despite his active schedule, Trump still found time for lunch with executives from Harley-Davidson.
est Velayati Ali Akbar Velayati, who ad-advises Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (right) on foreign affairs.
Iran’s defense minister confirmed the missile test launch on Sunday but claimed it did not violate the 20155 nu-nuclear agreement between Iran and worldworld powers.
As part of the deal, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange foror sanc-sanctions relief. The US also agreed to release frozen Iranian assets that were estimated to be worth as much as $150 billion..
Trump blasted that part of the deal in a Thursday tweet, as well.
“Iran was on its last legs and ready to collapse until the U.S. came along and gave it a life-line in the form of thehe Iran Deal: $150 billion,” he wrote.
Adding to the condemnation, House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday called Iran “the greatest sponsor of terror in the world,” and said he would support additional sanctions.