President Donald Trump addressed ongoing contacts between Iran and the United States at a rally in Michigan on Monday, declaring: “We beat Iran into shape, let’s see what happens. The talks are very ‘friendly,’ the blockade was great, they said ‘please, no more blockade.'”
1+Trump added that “at first they didn’t behave nicely, and then I had to come back—and now they’re behaving nicely. We can’t let lunatics like that have nuclear weapons.” According to him, “The Iranians are not people you can bribe. You have to overpower them, and we’ll hit them very hard. But let’s see how it develops—right now very friendly contacts are taking place.”
But even as the American president spoke, Iran issued a direct threat. The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters released a sharp statement toward Washington, saying “American actions that create insecurity in the region and attempts to impose an illegal naval blockade on Iran—will be answered and punished.”
1+The statement read: “The U.S., continuing its actions that create insecurity in the region and following its attempt to impose an illegal naval blockade on Iran, has threatened in recent days Iranian commercial ships and oil tankers in territorial waters and areas adjacent to our country. We warn that this action by the U.S. is perceived as an escalation of war in the region, and in accordance with the manner in which Iran’s armed forces have proven on the ground, every threat and every action by this country’s military will be answered and punished.”