American responses to President Donald Trump’s stern warning to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani continued to pour in on Monday.
Trump had tweeted Sunday night that Tehran would “suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before.”
He was replying to Rouhani’s threat in which he said that “America must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars."
The White House on Monday blamed the Iranian leader for stoking a war of words with Trump.
A White House official said that Trump’s tweet shows that he will not tolerate criticism from Iran, adding however, that Washington does not want to escalate tensions with Tehran.
Press secretary Sarah Sanders stated that "if anybody's inciting anything, look no further than to Iran."
Sanders said on Monday that Trump has been "very clear about what he's not going to allow to take place."
She did not clarify whether the president had consulted with his national security team before posting his tweet in response to Rouhani, but added that he holds talks with the aides on a daily basis.
National security adviser John Bolton, meanwhile, told reporters that Trump’s statement was more than just a tweet, hinting at more escalatory measures against Iran.
He said he had spoken with Trump over the last several days and, "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."
Analysts have ruled out the possibility that the war of words would lead to any form of confrontation between the US and Iran.
They instead predicted that the Iranian regime would back down from its threats and that the US sanctions against it will limit its ability to stir trouble or export chaos to neighboring countries. They also ruled out the possibility of Iran blocking vital sea straits.
Fox News political analyst Brit Hume made light of the Iranian threats, pointing to the weakness of its economy and the popular protests against the government.
He noted that the regime had lost a lot of its popularity.
