Iran’s Response to Threat: Trump Wouldn’t Dare

Trump's pugnacious Tweeter message in all capital letters late Sunday came following Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's warning to him not to "play with the lion’s tail” after the U.S. unveiled a series of measures which amount to a declaration of war.
"NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE," Trump wrote.
"WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!" he added.
The head of Iran’s voluntary Basij forces, Gholamhussein  Gheibparvar rejected the U.S. president’s rhetoric. "What Trump is saying against Iran is merely psychological warfare. He wouldn’t dare to make the mistake of taking any actions against Iran,” he said.
"We will not give up on our revolutionary values and beliefs and we will stand against imperialists and tyrants, and those few who have fallen for this psychological warfare of this crazy president should know that he wishes the destruction of all of us. Our people and our armed forces will stand up to enemies and will not yield,” he added.
Foad Izadi, a prominent Iranian commentator, accused Trump of attempting to distract attention from domestic pressures in the U.S.
"This is designed to address his base in the U.S. You need to remember that he is facing elections in November and if Democrats gain power in the U.S. congress, they will impeach him,” Izadi told the Guardian.
"Elections are going to be quite important for him and he is using rhetoric that is suitable for the base that voted for him, using everything in caps and looking tough. In reality, remember he used the same type of rhetoric against North Korea and in the last few months, he has given a lot of things that North Koreans wanted from the U.S. North Korean policy has been tough on rhetoric and quite weak in substance when it comes to U.S. interests.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi also condemned an intervention at the weekend by Mike Pompeo, the U.S. secretary of state, who called Iran’s ruling elite a "mafia” during a speech at the Ronald Reagan library in California on Sunday.
"The U.S. secretary of state’s hypocritical and absurd speech in the gathering was only a propaganda exercise and showed the unlimited desperation of the U.S. administration more than ever,” Qasemi said.
"These remarks are a clear example of the country’s interference in Iran’s internal affairs and exactly in line with its long-term destabilizing and destructive policies in the region,” he added, saying that Pompeo’s intervention would encourage solidarity among people inside Iran.
The Trump administration is seen in Iran as particularly close to a fringe, cult-like, extreme anti-Iran group, the MKO, which has no support inside the country.
Qasemi said, "Throughout history, Iranians have never accepted any foreign domination and bullying, and certainly in these sensitive situations, they will not only ignore the current president and the war-mongering minority in the U.S. ... they will also respond to these meddlesome remarks and measures with exemplary unity and coherence."
In his Sunday speech, Pompeo said President Trump was "willing to talk" to the Iranian government if it showed what he called signs of change.
He referred to Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement in May, saying it had freed the U.S. to re-impose financial sanctions on the country and on those doing business with Tehran.

He also reiterated that the administration seeks to force Iranian crude exports "as close to zero as possible by November 4," when the U.S. sanctions lifted by the nuclear deal snap back into place.
Source: Keyhan.ir/en