ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - President Donald Trump continued to ramp up rhetoric against Iran, tweeting on Tuesday “any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas overwhelming will mean obliteration”. The US president’s tweet comes just a day after he announced a fresh round of sanctions on Tehran.
Trump also tweeted that the only thing the Iranian leadership understands is “Strength and Power”, and “the USA is by far the most powerful Military Force in the world”.
Speaking to health officials in Tehran on Tuesday morning, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his government is not afraid of the US. He also commended the Iranian military for shooting down a US Navy drone last week.
Trump also tweeted that the only thing the Iranian leadership understands is “Strength and Power”, and “the USA is by far the most powerful Military Force in the world”.
Speaking to health officials in Tehran on Tuesday morning, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his government is not afraid of the US. He also commended the Iranian military for shooting down a US Navy drone last week.
Rouhani added that the US-imposed sanctions have been ineffective.
“Whatever they do, they don’t get the desired result. Because they thought they would unravel the country in two-three months. But they see people moving ahead with more firmness and steadfastness,” he said.
“The White House is suffering from the paralysis of mind. They don’t know what to do”, said Rouhani.
“Imposing fruitless sanctions against Iran’s supreme leader and the commander of Iran’s diplomacy (Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif) is the permanent closure of the path to diplomacy with Trump’s desperate government,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a tweet Tuesday.
The Iranian president added that contrary to what Trump claims, the US is not interested in negotiations.
“Don’t they say let’s negotiate together? Well if you are genuine in wanting to negotiate, how is it that at the same time you want to sanction the foreign minister? It is clear that you are lying ... you are not interested in negotiation,” Rouhani said.
Trump signed an executive order on Monday imposing new sanctions on Iran, aimed particularly at Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamanei, his office, and those closely affiliated with him.
US-imposed sanctions have dealt a massive economic blow to Iran's economy. The national currency has lost around 70 percent of its value, and rates of unemployment and inflation are sky-high.
The new measures come during an uptick of violence in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Iran shot down a naval reconnaissance drone in the Gulf of Oman on June 20, while several oil tankers have been attacked in the same area.
The US has repeatedly accused Iran of launching the tanker attacks – accusations Iran has vehemently denied.
The latest round of US sanctions mark a “permanent closure of the path to diplomacy” between Washington and Tehran, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday morning.
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