General Gholam Hossein Gheibparvar said that Trump ‘cannot do a damn thing’ against Iran despite his Twitter threats
Iran has hit back at Donald Trump after the President warned Tehran to ‘never, ever threaten the US again’ in an all-caps Twitter outburst that raised the specter of war.
A top Iranian general bragged on Monday that America ‘won’t dare’ attack despite Trump threatening ‘consequences few throughout history have ever suffered’ a tweet-storm late on Sunday night.
General Gholam Hossein Gheibparvar, chief of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force, dismissed Trump’s message as little more than ‘psychological warfare.’
He added: ‘We will never abandon our revolutionary beliefs. We will resist pressure from enemies.
‘America wants nothing less than [to] destroy Iran … [but] Trump cannot do a damn thing against Iran.’
Iran’s state-owned IRNA news agency further goaded Trump, describing his tweet as a ‘passive reaction’.
Trump lashed out at Rouhani on Twitter late on Sunday, warning of ‘consequences the like of which few throughout history have suffered’
The agency also accused Trump of copying Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who had in the past warned the West to ‘never threaten an Iranian.’
Trump’s attack came after President Hassan Rouhani gave a speech in which he cautioned: ‘Peace with Iran will be the mother of all peace, but war with Iran will be the mother of all wars.’
That prompted Trump to write: ‘To Iranian President Rouhani: 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!’
The message echoed remarks Trump made to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in August last year amid a flurry of missile tests.
At the time, Trump told reporters: ‘North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States.
‘They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.’
Rouhani had earlier told Trump ‘peace with Iran will be the mother of all peace, but war with Iran will be the mother of all wars’
Trump’s tweet came after Mike Pompeo promised a ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against the Iranian regime in echoes of the administration’s strategy against North Korea
Trump’s remarks came after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged a ‘maximum pressure campaign’ against Rouhani and his government.
The Trump administration described its approach to North Korea in the same terms.
Pompeo branded Iran’s leadership a ‘mafia’ and promised US backing to groups rebelling against the government, though did not name them.
All of this comes after Trump effectively tore up the Iran nuclear agreement signed under predecessor Barack Obama by threatening tough new sanctions on Tehran.
In response Iran threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, which handles around 20 per cent of the world’s oil shipments.
The Trump administration initially planned to shut Iran out of global oil markets completely, demanding all other countries stop buying Iranian crude by November.
But the U.S. has somewhat eased its stance, saying it may grant sanction waivers to some allies that are particularly reliant on Iranian supplies.