Donald Trump has threatened Iran with “consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before”, in a late-night, all capital-letter tweet.
The post, sent at 11.24pm ET on Sunday night, came after the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, warned the US about pursuing a hostile policy against his government, suggesting “war with Iran is the mother of all wars”. Rouhani did not rule out peace, however, according to comments reported by the Iranian state news agency, IRNA.
The US president, who returned to the White House on Sunday evening after spending the weekend at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, addressed his tweet directly to Rouhani, warning the president to “NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN”.
The message continued: “WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!”
On Monday morning, White House staff members duly supported Trump’s tweet. The press secretary, Sarah Sanders, told Fox News the president was not inciting a confrontation, and said “the only person that is inciting anything is Iran”.
“The president certainly uses tough language,” she said, “but he’s also not afraid to take tough steps if necessary.”
In a statement, the national security adviser, John Bolton, said: “President Trump told me that if Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid before.”
Bolton is a proponent of interventionist foreign policy and was ambassador to the United Nations in the administration of George W Bush, during the Iraq war.
In Iran, government officials avoided kneejerk responses. The head of the voluntary basij paramilitary force, Gholamhossein Gharibpour, said: “What Trump is saying against Iran is merely psychological warfare. He wouldn’t dare to make the mistake of taking any actions against Iran.”
Foaz Izadi, a prominent commentator close to the establishment, told the Guardian that Trump’s tweet was “designed to address his base in the US. You need to remember that he is facing elections in November and if Democrats gain power in the US congress, they will impeach him.”
Trump is still reeling from domestic criticism over his handling of a summit with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the continued fallout of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
He withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal earlier this year. The move unravelled a signature foreign policy achievement of the Obama administration and threatened to destabilise Iran’s denuclearisation programme.
On Sunday, Rouhani addressed Trump directly in his reported remarks, saying: “Mr Trump, don’t play with the lion’s tail, this would only lead to regret.”
He continued: “America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars.”
Earlier, Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, said Iran’s ruling elite were a “mafia” who had amassed vast sums of wealth while allowing their people to suffer.
As the US prepares to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran, Pompeo said the country’s religious leaders were “hypocritical holy men”.
“Sometimes it seems the world has become desensitised to the regime’s authoritarianism at home and its campaigns of violence abroad,” Pompeo said in prepared remarks for a speech at the Ronald Reagan presidential library and museum in California. “But the proud Iranian people are not staying silent about their government’s many abuses.
“And the United States under President Trump will not stay silent either. In light of these protests and 40 years of regime tyranny, I have a message for the people of Iran: the United States hears you. The United States supports you. The United States is with you.”
Pompeo castigated Iran’s political, judicial and military leaders, accusing several by name of participating in widespread corruption. He also said the government had “heartlessly repressed its own people’s human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms”.
America’s top diplomat was particularly barbed in his remarks about “the ayatollahs,,” saying they “are in on the act, too”. He said Nasser Makarem Shirazi, the grand ayatollah, had generated more than $100m for himself in illicit trading of sugar; that Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani is worth millions after the government transferred several lucrative mines to his foundation; and that the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has an off-the-books hedge fund, Setad, worth $95bn.
“The level of corruption and wealth among regime leaders shows that Iran is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government,” he said.
Pompeo’s remarks were aimed in part at Iranian Americans and Iranians living in the US. He assured them that the Trump administration shared their dreams for the people of Iran. He also expressed support for those Iranians who have protested against their government’s actions and called its response “brutal”.
Pompeo said the US was undertaking a diplomatic and financial campaign to cut off funds, focusing on reimposing sanctions on its banking and energy sectors. Trump, withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal in May and the first sanctions to be reimposed were expected to hit on 4 August.