Asenior Iranian official has given Newsweek his country's response to President Donald Trump's harsh language against the Islamic Republic, which the United States has pressured with economic restrictions and military threats.
Lashing out in an interview Friday with conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, Trump dropped the F-bomb on a country he has accused of funding militant groups, targeting U.S. interests in the Middle East secretly pursuing a nuclear weapon.
"If you f*ck around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are gonna do things to you that have never been done before," a COVID-19-positive Trump said, arguing Tehran "knows that and has been put on notice."
Alireza Miryousefi, the spokesperson for Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations, hit back shortly after, dismissing the U.S. leader's words as electioneering.
"Mr. Trump's attempt to portray himself as a tough guy is unsurprising as the Presidential election in America is fast approaching," Miryousefi told Newsweek.
He said Iran and its people would not back down in the face of these remarks, nor by the Trump's administration decision Thursday to double down on sanctions that chokes Iran's financial sector as it suffers the dual effects of an economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, or even military actions like the January killing of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.
"The US is waging a cruel and illegal economic war, tantamount to economic terrorism, on the people of Iran," Miryousefi said. "The U.S. also cowardly assassinated general Suleimani, a hero in the fight against Daesh and other terrorists, while he was the official guest of the Iraqi government on a peace mission."
"The people of Iran have proven to be resilient and not intimidated by such inappropriate, irresponsible and empty rhetoric," he added.
https://www.newsweek.com/iran-trump-no-tough-guy-dont-f-k-us-1537982