Trump to Iranian president: ‘Never ever threaten’ U.S. again, or ‘suffer consequences’

WASHINGTON – Since taking office, President Donald Trump has developed a reputation for firing off heated tweets that seem to escalate disputes with world leaders at odds with the U.S.

On Monday, Trump trained his social media ire on Iran, prompting observers to wonder whether the president is seeking a confrontation with Iran or trying to change the subject politically.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders described Trump's near-midnight tweet Sunday as a response to an Iranian threat and said, "If anybody’s inciting anything, look no further than to Iran.”

Asked by a reporter Monday afternoon if he had any worries about provoking tensions with Iran, Trump said “none at all” as he toured the Made in America exhibition on the White House South Lawn.

Ayatollah Amoli Larijani, Iran’s chief judiciary official, said the U.S. needed to know that if it attacked Iran, it would “receive a response that would be written in history,” according to comments carried by IRNA, a state-run news agency.

Larijani said Trump’s remarks were not unexpected from a “foolish person like Trump.”

John Bolton, Trump's national security adviser, said he has spoken with Trump for "several days" about Iran, and the president "told me that if Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a price that few countries have ever paid before."

Foreign policy analysts wondered whether Trump was looking to move past a spate of political troubles, including fallout from last week's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, or is serious about confronting Iraq.

As Washington prepared to reimpose economic sanctions on Iran after its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord, Trump ratcheted up tensions late Sunday night with a stark tweet written in all capital letters.

"NEVER EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKE OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE," Trump wrote.

Trump was responding to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who said earlier in the day that "American(s) must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars." Rouhani cautioned Trump to stop "playing with the lion’s tail or else you will regret it."

Trump pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May despite objections from China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom. The deal was intended to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Trump ordered increased American sanctions after those sanctions had been suspended as part of the accord. The first part of the sanctions – affecting Iran's access to U.S. dollars, its trade in gold and other commodities and its car industry – will snap back on Aug. 4. Sanctions on Iran's oil industry will be reimposed in November. 

Rouhani, a moderate in Iran's theocracy that is ruled by Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has lashed out against Trump for threatening to reimpose the sanctions, for moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and for banning travel to the U.S. from certain Muslim-majority countries.

Trump has suggested that because of Iran's poor economy and what he has characterized as its increasing isolation, Iranian leaders are "going to call me and say 'Let’s make a deal.'" 

Iran has rejected talks.

Some analysts said Trump may be seeking a replay of his approach to North Korea. After months of attacking its leader, Kim Jong Un, and pledging to rain "fire and fury" on the North Korean leader if he kept up his nuclear threats, Trump suddenly agreed in the spring to a meeting with Kim last month.

Yet North Korea has not yet taken affirmative steps toward ending its nuclear weapons programs, analysts said, and an aggressive approach to Iran may not lead to much in the absence of the nuclear agreement.

Colin Kahl,  national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden during the Obama administration, said Trump has "appeased" Russia and "gone soft" on North Korea while abandoning the Iran nuclear deal without a backup plan.

"Now the Administration is pushing regime change & the 2 sides are exchanging threats like this," Kahl tweeted. "Very dangerous."

Others noted that Trump's threat to Iran came in a single tweet amid a series of posts defending his meeting with Putin and calling for an end to the special counsel investigation into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election on Trump's behalf.

"He's venting," said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator for presidents of both parties. "He wants to appear tough, and he wants to change the channel."

Ned Price, a special assistant for national security during the Obama administration, said, "as with all things Trump, it’s impossible to know whether this is the result of strategy or impulsiveness."

At least one thing is clear, he said: "What’s also undeniable is that the threat of conflict with Iran is much more real than it ever was with North Korea."

Since taking office, Trump has developed a reputation for firing off heated tweets that seem to escalate disputes with leaders of nations at odds with the U.S. In the case of North Korea, the public war of words cooled quickly and led to the high-profile summit with Kim last month in Singapore.

"WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!," Trump wrote in his latest verbal barrage against Iran. 

On Sunday night, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo separately addressed a group of Iranian-Americans in California. Pompeo denounced Rouhani and Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, Iran's chief nuclear deal negotiator. He described them as "merely polished front men for (Khamenei's) international con artistry." He said the Iranian leadership resembles "the Mafia more than a government" and vowed to prevent Iran from exporting its oil to other countries.

"For 40 years the Iranian people have heard from their own government that America is the Great Satan. We do not believe they are interested in hearing that #FakeNews any longer," Pompeo tweeted Monday. 

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qasemi, on Monday ridiculed Pompeo’s remarks, according to IRNA, the state-run news agency.

'Pompeo's words constituted very clear evidence showing the US efforts to meddle in Iran's internal affairs,” he said. "The hypocritical and absurd address made by the US secretary of state was just a propaganda move." 

USA TODAY's Kim Hjelmgaard, who reported from London, recently returned from a trip to Iran. A special report on the country will be published in August.Follow him on Twitter.