Donald Trump put the radical Islamic government in Iran on notice with an all-caps tweet.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had threatened the United States with the mother of all wars, and Trump was not about to allow the rogue government in Tehran to bully America.
James Mattis was asked about Trump’s tweet, and all hell broke loose when “Mad Dog” delivered his answer.
The Secretary of Defense met with reporters to take questions after meeting with Australian officials at Stanford University.
Journalists quizzed Mattis about Trump’s tweet warning Iran not to threaten the United States, as well as the Iranian government’s response.
President Trump had tweeted:
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. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted back:
COLOR US UNIMPRESSED: The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard them —albeit more civilized ones—for 40 yrs. We’ve been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!
Mattis backed up the President by pointing out the litany of actions Iran had undertaken to destabilize the Middle East.
“It’s time for Iran to shape up and show responsibility as a responsible nation,” ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis continued. “It cannot continue to show irresponsibility as some revolutionary organization that is intent on exporting terrorism and exporting disruption across the region.”
The Defense Secretary launched into a litany of examples of Iran’s misbehavior, noting that “the only reason that the murderer [Syrian President Bashar-al] Assad is still in power is that Iran has stuck by him … and funded him.”
He added that “we see the same kind of malfeasance down in Yemen, where they’re fomenting more violence. We’ve seen their disruptive capabilities demonstrated” repeatedly.
Journalists were appalled at Trump’s tweet.
Once again, they broke out into a panic about Trump tweeting America into another world war.
But this is how Trump operated, and it has paid dividends for America.
Last summer, the establishment lost their minds over Trump threatening North Korea with “fire and fury” should Kim Jong-un threaten the United States with a nuclear weapon.
Trump’s escalating rhetoric led an historic summit with the North Korean leader.
And just as the media was pounding Trump for accomplishing nothing, word broke that North Korea was dismantling key facilities at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station.
This facility is reported to have been instrumental in North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile program, so this is an important first step – but just a first step – toward Kim Jong-un’s statement that he was committed to denuclearization.
Trump supporters see a similar strategy at play with Iran.
In fact, President Trump pledged that the United States was open to signing a real agreement with Iran that would actually eliminate the rogue government’s ability to acquire a nuclear weapon in exchange for economic relief.
Will President Trump’s maximum pressure diplomacy strategy work with Iran?
We will keep you up to date on any new developments in this story.
