Donald Trump’s ‘genocidal taunts’ will not end Iran, says Foreign Minister Javad Zarif
On Sunday, Trump had said: ‘If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran.’
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Monday dismissed United States President Donald Trump’s tweets threatening the country as “genocidal taunts”.
“Goaded by #B_Team, [Donald Trump] hopes to achieve what Alexander, Genghis & other aggressors failed to do,” Zarif wrote on Twitter, in an apparent reference to Trump’s advisers such as John Bolton. “Iranians have stood tall for millennia while aggressors all gone. #EconomicTerrorism & genocidal taunts won’t ‘end Iran’.”
He added: “#NeverThreatenAnIranian. Try respect – it works!”
Goaded by #B_Team, @realdonaldTrump hopes to achieve what Alexander, Genghis & other aggressors failed to do. Iranians have stood tall for millennia while aggressors all gone. #EconomicTerrorism & genocidal taunts won't "end Iran". #NeverThreatenAnIranian. Try respect—it works!
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) May 20, 2019
Zarif’s tweet was in response to Trump’s warning to Iran. “If Iran Wants To Fight, That Will Be The Official End Of Iran,” the US president had said on Sunday. “Never Threaten The United States Again!”
Trump’s tweet had come soon after a Katyusha rocket was fired into Baghdad’s Green Zone, an area housing many government buildings and embassies, including the US Embassy.
If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019
This comes amid heightened tensions across the Persian Gulf. Earlier this month, the US had sent additional forces to the region to counter “credible threats from Iran”. Tehran had described the US move as “psychological warfare” and a “political game”. The US also has ordered all non-emergency government employees in Iraq to leave the country soon.
In 2018, United States President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of a nuclear deal between America and other countries with Iran. Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran had agreed to limit sensitive nuclear activities and allow international inspectors in return for relief from sanctions.
On May 9, Trump announced a new set of sanctions on Iranian metals. Trump’s order came the day Iran announced that it had ceased to implement some of its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal. In April, the US had also blacklisted the Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran and designated it a foreign terrorist group. Trump has also stepped up sanctions pressure by ending waivers for 8 countries, including India, to purchase Iranian oil. This was part of Trump’s efforts to disrupt Iran’s terror network.