TEHRAN – Responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-Iran rhetoric, chief of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday that if Trump hears about the IRGC’s capabilities, he will never dare say the same things again.

Speaking at a ceremony held in Tehran to deliver 10 Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets overhauled and upgraded by domestic experts at the IRGC Aerospace Force, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari shrugged off the U.S. administration’s threat to cut Iran’s oil exports to zero by November, saying such threats can be easily countered.

General Jafari also hailed President Hassan Rouhani’s response to U.S. threats against the Islamic Republic as “revolutionary”, Fars reported.

On Sunday, President Rouhani warned President Trump about his hostile stance against Iran, saying, “Mr. Trump, do not play with the lion’s tail, this would only lead to regret.”

Rouhani also said, “The Americans must fully understand that peace with Iran is the mother of all the peace, and war with Iran would be the mother of all wars.”

Trump on Monday responded to Rouhani’s comments in a tweet, saying, “Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before.” 

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif then tweeted that he was “unimpressed” by Trump’s threatening language.

“We’ve been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, including our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries,” Zarif noted.

Under its current the administration, the United States has taken an increasingly hostile approach toward Iran.

On May 8, Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal with Iran despite objections by Europe as well as Russia and China — the other parties to the deal.

He also announced that his administration will re-impose sanctions against Iran.

MH/PA