President Trump on Sunday night warned that if threats from Tehran persisted then Iran “would suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before.”
In a tweet, written in all caps and directed explicitly at Iranian President Hassan 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!”
Trump’s tweet also came shortly after his secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, delivered remarks on Iran at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum on Sunday evening.
During his address, Pompeo compared Iran’s leaders to the mafia, while also declaring U.S. support for the people of Iran, especially protesters who have taken to the streets recently in opposition to the current regime.
The U.S. and Iran have been in conflict for decades. The already tense relationship was further strained earlier this year when Trump announced the U.S. would be withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal.
Former President Obama helped spearhead the international agreement, which offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs to its nuclear program. Trump had long derided the deal, and fulfilled one of his key campaign promises by announcing his administration was scrapping it.
Nonetheless, the decision drew international condemnation and has led to renewed concerns of a potential conflict between the U.S. and Iran, which has wide influence across the Middle East, including in Syria, where Washington also maintains a military presence.
The Trump administration has included Iran in its controversial travel ban, which was recently upheld by the Supreme Court.