President Trump responded Sunday night to some belligerent rhetoric from Iran by taking to Twitter and “yelling” in all capital letters that Iran was risking annihilation.
“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,” the president wrote, entirely in capital letters with the exception of the “greeting” to President Hassan Rouhani.
“We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented words of violence & death. Be cautious!” Mr. Trump concluded still in caps-lock mode, a gesture known in social media to be the equivalent of yelling in speech.
Mr. Trump was responding to reports earlier Sunday that Mr. Rouhani had addressed the U.S. president at a gathering of Iranian diplomats with threats including “the mother of all wars.”
“Mr. Trump, don’t play with the lion’s tail, this would only lead to regret,” the state Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
“America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars,” he said.
One other Middle East nation has threatened the U.S. with the “mother of all wars” before — Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
“Death to America” is a common refrain at rallies and on state-sponsored murals in Iran since the Islamic Republic was founded in 1979, and there was once a special holiday declaration of a “Death to America Day.” When Mr. Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal this spring, a crude drawing of a U.S. flag was burned in the Iranian Parliament amid chants of “Death to America.”
Since one nation — Japan — already has been the object a nuclear attack and many nations have been conquered or suffered military defeats, the “consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered” might mean a nuclear war.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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