The week started with threatening words from both sides. U.S. President Donald Trump sent a strongly worded tweet directly to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018
Iran was quick to respond with a tweet of its own, from Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.
COLOR US UNIMPRESSED: The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard them —albeit more civilized ones—for 40 yrs. We’ve been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) July 23, 2018
The U.S. walked away from the Iran Nuclear Deal two months ago. But Trump’s rhetoric later softened when he signaled a new deal might be possible.
At a speech in the U.S. state of Missouri, Trump declared, “we are ready to make a real deal, not the deal that was done by the previous administration, which was a disaster.”
CGTN’s Nathan King reports.
Follow Nathan King on Twitter@nathanking
To discuss the Iran deal and challenges ahead for the U.S. president:
-
- Trita Parsi is the founder and president of the National Iranian American Council.
- Michael Johns is the co-founder of the National Tea Party Movement.
- Eleanor Clift is a political analyst for The Daily Beast.
- Alexander Nekrassov is a former advisor to the Russian government.
For more:
"If we cannot continue our (oil) exports, others will not be able to do so either," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warns against U.S. threat to bring Iran's oil sales down to zero https://t.co/PjQMqDzIkw pic.twitter.com/Fun7LWfxR0
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) July 24, 2018
JUST IN: Kremlin says Putin not ready to accept Trump invite to Washington https://t.co/KRWT6p6cqz pic.twitter.com/S1SGRfQ0Ew
— The Hill (@thehill) July 24, 2018