The FINANCIAL — U.S. President Donald Trump issued another warning to Iran late on July 25, saying Tehran must honor its nuclear deal with world powers or face “big, big problems.”
It was the latest in a series of high-level warnings exchanged between Washington and Tehran and came after the U.S. Navy announced on July 25 that it fired warning shots at an Iranian vessel in the Persian Gulf.
Trump last week certified that Iran is complying with the 2015 nuclear agreement, which requires it to curb nuclear activities in exchange for international sanctions relief, according to RFE/RL.
But Trump told thousands of supporters at a rally in the U.S. state of Ohio that he remains wary of Tehran.
“If that deal doesn’t conform to what it’s supposed to conform to, it’s going to be big, big problems for them. That I can tell you. Believe me,” he said.
Rather than be grateful for the sanctions relief granted by the deal, Trump said Iran has become more aggressive.
“You would have thought they would have said, ‘Thank you, United States. We really love you very much.’ Instead, they’ve become emboldened. That won’t take place much longer,” he said.
Separately, Trump told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published on July 25 that he would be “surprised” if Iran is found in compliance with the nuclear deal when time for recertification comes up in three months.
Trump’s harsh rhetoric against Iran, which was a feature of his campaign and has continued since he took office, recently has provoked equally harsh responses from Tehran.
Last week, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander warned that the United States should move its military bases in the Persian Gulf region and keep its forces at a 1,000-kilometer distance from Iran.
Mohammad Ali Jafari was quoted by Iranian news agencies as saying that the United States would pay a “high price” for any “miscalculations” in the region.
On July 25, the U.S. military said a U.S. Navy patrol boat fired warning shots at one of the IRGC’s patrol boats because it came dangerously close to the American warship during exercises in international waters.
The Pentagon said the close encounter carried a “risk of collision,” but it was averted after the Iranian boat veered off its collision course.
With reporting by AP, Reuters, CNBC, and The Wall Street Journal
Discussion about this post