U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iranian President Hassan Rouhani late Sunday not to threaten the United States or face dire consequences, hours after Rouhani told Trump that the U.S.'s hostile policies toward Tehran could spark "the mother of all wars."
In a late night all caps Twitter message directed at Rouhani, Trump 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!"
Iran's state-owned news agency IRNA dismissed Trump's warning tweet as a "passive reaction" to Rouhani's remarks.
IRNA, a government mouthpiece, added that Trump's Twitter missive was only mimicking and copying Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who had in the past warned the West to "never threaten an Iranian."
The escalation in rhetoric came as the Trump administration launched an offensive of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest in Iran and pressure Iran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
Iran has faced increased U.S. pressure and looming sanctions following Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from a 2015 international accord on Iran's controversial nuclear program. Tehran has said its nuclear work is just for electricity generation and other peaceful projects.
Meanwhile on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced Iran's leaders as a "mafia" and promised unspecified backing for Iranians unhappy with their government.
He called the religious leaders of Iran "hypocritical holy men" who amassed vast sums of wealth while allowing their people to suffer, part of a highly critical broadside issued as the republic approached the 40th anniversary of its Islamic revolution.
Pompeo talked about increasing the media outreach to the Iranian people. He said the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors is taking new steps to help Iranians get around internet censorship and is launching a new 24/7 Farsi-language channel across television, radio, digital and social media formats, "so that ordinary Iranians inside Iran and around the globe can know America stands with them."
Pompeo castigated Iran's political, judicial and military leaders, too, accusing several by name of participating in widespread corruption. He also said the government has "heartlessly repressed its own people's human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms."
Iran "is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government," Pompeo said, citing what he called Iranian leaders' vast wealth and corruption.
He said despite poor treatment by their leaders, "the proud Iranian people are not staying silent about their government's many abuses."
Earlier Sunday, addressing a gathering of Iranian diplomats, Rouhani said: "Mr. Trump, don't play with the lion's tail, this would only lead to regret," according to a report by IRNA.
"America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," Rouhani said, leaving open the possibility of peace between the two countries, at odds since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Rouhani also scoffed at Trump's threat to halt Iranian oil exports and said Iran has a dominant position in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping waterway.
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.
Washington initially planned to shut Iran out of global oil markets completely after Trump abandoned the deal that limited Iran's nuclear ambitions, demanding all other countries stop buying Iranian crude by November.
But the United States has somewhat eased its stance, saying it may grant sanction waivers to some allies that are particularly reliant on Iranian supplies.
Separately, a top Iranian military commander warned that the Trump government might be preparing to invade Iran.
"The enemy's behavior is unpredictable," Tasnim quoted military chief of staff General Mohammad Baqeri as saying.
"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.
