The Donald vs Iran: Donald Trump’s twitter antics are no stranger to controversy. The twitter account of the POTUS and his widespread campaign on the internet are one of the most important factors that won him the election. His tweets are categorized as ‘childish’, ‘erratic’, ‘aggressive’ and even ‘dangerous’ by many political commentators. But this past week, one of his tweets garnered more attention than usual.
The horrifying use of capital letters, the complete lack of diplomacy, and the threat of nuclear annihilation, woah.
So what brought forth the twitter wrath of The Donald?
Donald Trump’s tweets were a direct response to the comments made by the President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani. Rouhani said earlier, “America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars." Rouhani also warned America to not “play with the Lion’s tail” and the US had no right to “incite the
Iranian nation against Iran’s security and interests.”
The two leaders have been exchanging aggressive remarks ever since the POTUS announced that he would be withdrawing the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which is an alias to the Iran nuclear deal, in which Iran was asked to stop enriching uranium in exchange for the decrease in economic sanctions placed on the country. Trump showed his displeasure with the Iran deal made by the Obama admin early on, calling it ‘defective to the core.’
The US has also been asking buyers to stop importing oil from Iran. Hassan Rouhani’s recent comments have suggested that if Iran is unable to export oil, it may use its position along the Strait of Hormuz to stop other Middle Eastern countries from shipping their oil.
Continued verbal assault from both sides
Major General Qassem Soleimani fired back at Trump, saying that if the US attacked Iran, it will ‘destroy all you possess.” He made equally potent comments such as, “As a soldier, it is my duty to respond to your threats. Talk to me, not to the president. It is not in our president’s dignity to respond to you.”
“If you begin the war, we will end the war. You know this war will destroy all that you possess,” he said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif replied to Donald Trump’s tweets with similar
threatening implications. He tweeted:
“COLOR US UNIMPRESSED: The world heard even yrs harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard them —albeit more civilized ones—for 40. We’ve been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!”
High ranking Iranian officials have also labelled Trump’s recent comments as ‘psychological warfare.’
The US secretary of State Mike Pompeo also made harsh comments in regards to Iran’s government recently in front of Iranian Americans in California. He said that the nuclear deal did not moderate Iran and made them ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’. He criticized Iran’s religious leaders, calling them ‘hypocritical old men.’ He further stated that the Iranian government has “heartlessly repressed its own people’s human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms”. Pompeo expressed US support for the Iranian people and the stern measures the US was willing to combat Iranian aggression by saying, “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.”
Is all hope lost? Should we all retreat to our bunkers?
Despite the heated exchange between the two countries, nuclear warfare is still a far-fetched outcome. In his initial comments which prompted the whole twitter fiasco, the Iranian president also expressed that he would not rule out peace talks. Also, two days after his tweet, Trump took his threatening rhetoric down a notch, stating that he’s willing to make a ‘real deal’ with Tehran’s nuclear program.
Muttaqi Mashrur
Editor
Global Affairs
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