Trump Threatens Iran with 'Obliteration' as US, Russia, Israel Hold 'Historic' Discussions

JERUSALEM, Israel - President Donald Trump sent a strong warning to the Iranian regime Tuesday as tensions between the US and Iran grow.

The president said in a tweet: "Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration."

....Iran’s very ignorant and insulting statement, put out today, only shows that they do not understand reality. Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration. No more John Kerry & Obama!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2019

That came after a defiant Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the White House is afflicted by mental retardation and does not know what to do.

Meanwhile, United States National Security Advisor John Bolton is warning Iran to pull out of Syria and "give up" its pursuit of deliverable nuclear weapons or face more pressure from the Trump administration.

Bolton spoke at a press conference following an unprecedented trilateral meeting in Jerusalem between the top national security advisors of Israel, Russia, and the United States. The focus of the meeting was to discuss how to stabilize Syria and stop Iran from entrenching itself in the war-torn country.

"The real issue is the Iranian forces," Bolton said. "Their presence in Syria is a particular concern to Israel because of the common border and because (of) Israel being within range of Iranian missile capabilities that they've been trying to bring into Syria."

Bolton also said it would be "a very serious mistake" for Iran to violate its commitment to limit uranium enrichment under the 2015 nuclear accord.

The ambassador said "all options", including a military strike, "remain on the table" if Iran blows through those limits.

After weeks of an ongoing crisis, on Monday, President Trump imposed new sanctions on Iran's Supreme Leader, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and other key Iranian leaders.  Yet he hopes his maximum pressure policy will bring Iran to the table. 

"We will simply enhance the maximum pressure campaign further," Bolton said if Iran continues its terror activity in the region. "It will be, I think, the combination of sanctions and other pressure that does bring Iran to the table."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also warned during Tuesday's trilateral discussions that Israel  "will respond forcefully" to any Iranian attack.

Russia's Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev acknowledged Israel's security concerns, but rejected the US and Israel's attempts to isolate Iran.

He said any attempt to paint Iran "as the main threat to regional security" are "not acceptable."

Patrushev added that "Iran is contributing a lot to fighting terrorists on the Syrian soil and stabilizing the situation there."

He urged his American and Israeli counterparts to show "restraint" toward the Islamic Republic.
 

Photo Credit:  Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Jerusalem