TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif late on Monday warned U.S. President Donald Trump to “BE CAUTIOUS” after a day earlier Trump threatened that Iran “will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered.” 

Zarif said Tehran was “unimpressed” by Trump’s threatening language.

 "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, including our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!," Zarif tweeted.

The threat of war against Iran by Trump came hours after President Hassan Rouhani warned the U.S. to stop pressing other countries to ban the purchase of the

Zarif say: “We’ve been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, including our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries.”Iranian crude oil. Rouhani told Trump: “Do not play with the lion’s tail”. Rouhani also said peace with Iran will be “the mother of all peace” but war with the country will be “the mother of all wars”.  

In his all-caps Twitter, Trump responded, "NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE," Trump wrote. "WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"

Under its current the administration, the U.S. 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.

The withdrawal entailed not only the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran but also the so-called secondary sanctions on third countries. Some of those sanctions will take effect after a 90-day wind-down period ending on August 6, and the rest after a 180-day wind-down period ending on November 4.

Iranian officials have said the U.S. measures equal an “economic war” on Iran.

On Saturday, Zarif said the Islamic Republic has managed to thwart the Iranophobia plot hatched by Israel and the U.S. through relying on the guidelines of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

SP/PA