Accusing Iran of constantly demonstrating a destabilising influence, US Defence Secretary James Mattis said today it was time Tehran shaped up and behaved responsibly, as tensions between the nations remained high after an all-caps Twitter warning from Donald Trump.
"On Iran, I think that what we have to look at is the destabilising influence that Iran has consistently portrayed and demonstrated throughout the region," Mattis told reporters during a US-Australia ministerial.
He alleged that the "only reason" Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime was in power was because Iran has "stuck by him, reinforced him, funded him."
"To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE," Trump tweeted, adding that "WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"
Reacting to Trump's tweets, a senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards had suggested that it was part of US's broader strategy. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani too had cautioned that America's hostile threats against his country may trigger "the mother of all wars."
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