Donald Trump isn’t exactly biting his tongue over Iran. Or if he is, it isn’t obvious.
On Sunday, just hours after a rocket struck less than a mile from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, the President made a fierce threat via Twitter.
Trump vowed that a war between Tehran and D.C. would mean “the official END OF IRAN”:
“If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!”
If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019
According to an Iraqi military spokesperson, the missile seemed to have come from east Baghdad — an area home to several Shiite militias supported by Iran.
Earlier this month, Trump sent bombers and warships to the Middle East to defend against attacks by forces backed by the Iranian regime.
Just days after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Baghdad, nonessential staff in diplomatic positions were evacuated due to intel indicating an Iranian threat.
On Thursday, when asked if war with Iran was imminent, the President replied “I hope not.”
On Friday and Saturday, the U.S. Navy held exercises alongside an aircraft carrier strike group coordinated with the Marine Corps in the Arabian sea.
But Sunday, Gen, Hossein Salami — head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard — claimed he has no interest in war.
Nevertheless, he insisted, the U.S. is destined for failure against Iran “because they are frustrated and hopeless.”
Saudia Arabia Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir also explained Sunday that his country “does not want war in the region and does not strive for that…but at the same time, if the other side chooses war, the kingdom will fight this with all force and determination and it will defend itself, its citizens and its interests.”
More from Fox News:
Adel al-Jubeir spoke a week after four oil tankers— two of them Saudi— were targeted in an alleged act of sabotage off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and days after Iran-allied Yemeni rebels claimed a drone attack on a Saudi oil pipeline. The Saudis have blamed the pipeline attack on Iran, accusing Tehran of arming the rebel Houthis, with which a Saudi-led coalition has been at war in Yemen since 2015. Iran denies arming or training the rebels, who control much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa.
“We want peace and stability in the region, but we won’t stand with our hands bound as the Iranians continuously attack. Iran has to understand that,” al-Jubeir said. “The ball is in Iran’s court.”
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, meanwhile, has called for a meeting of Arab heads of state on May 30 in Mecca to discuss the latest developments, including the oil pipeline attack.
There’s a lot of tension at the moment — domestically, with an escalating fight over abortion, and the Iran situation to name two.
President Trump’s tweet wasn’t exactly an act of de-escalation. At the same time, those are unsurprising words from the maverick America elected.
Stay tuned.
-ALEX
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