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“It is time for Iran to shape up and show responsibility as a responsible nation. It cannot continue to show irresponsibility as some revolutionary organisation that is intent on exporting terrorism, exporting disruption across the (Middle East) region,” Mattis said in response to a question. Mattis’s warning came two days after US President Donald Trump threatened Iran of risking consequences “the likes of which few throughout history have suffered before”. Trump’s Twitter warning had come in all caps.
“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,” Trump tweeted, adding that “WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!” Reacting to Trump’s tweets, a senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had suggested that it was part of US’s broader strategy. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani too had cautioned that America’s hostile threats against his country may trigger “the mother of all wars.”
The exchange of rhetoric came weeks after the US exited a landmark deal signed in 2015 which curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in return for lifting of international sanctions. Today, White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley reiterated that Iran has to stop its “destabilising behaviour”. “It has to stop its sponsor of terrorism. It threatens consistently this country, not to mention our only ally in the region, in Israel. And it’s one of the reasons the president got out of the Iran deal, because we now know that the Iran deal did not prevent the pathway to a nuclear weapon, but in fact paved it,” he said in response to a question.
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