Trump warns Iran it will be 'officially ended' if it fights US – 'Never THREATEN us again'

On Sunday he said in a tweet: “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again.” The US has deployed a carrier group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf over what it termed Iranian “threats”.

The build up of American military hardware in the Gulf comes amid rising tensions between the two states.

Trump’s rhetoric has met with widespread skepticism outside the United States.

There have been reports on US media of infighting in Trump’s cabinet over how hard to push Washington’s arch foe Iran.

On Sunday, a Katyusha rocket was fired into Baghdad’s Green Zone the location of the US diplomatic mission.

READ MORE: Iran THREAT: Tensions between US and Iran ‘risen to DANGEROUS point’

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

According to Yahoo News, Trump’s hawkish national security advisor John Bolton is pushing a hard line on Iran, but others in the administration are resisting.

Trump himself said recently that he has to “temper” Bolton.

Iran’s foreign minister downplayed the prospect of a new war in the region on Saturday, saying Tehran opposed it and no party was under the “illusion” the Islamic republic could be confronted.

Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told state-run news agency IRNA at the end of a visit to China: “We are certain there will not be a war since neither we want a war nor does anyone have the illusion they can confront Iran in the region.”

Iran-US relations hit a new low last year as US Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed unilateral sanctions that had been lifted in exchange for Tehran scaling back its nuclear program.

Saudi Arabia called Sunday for emergency regional talks to discuss the mounting Gulf tensions, saying that it does not want war with Iran but is ready to defend itself.

That came days after mysterious sabotage attacks on several tankers in highly sensitive Gulf waters and drone strikes on a Saudi crude pipeline by Yemen rebels who Riyadh claimed were acting on Iranian orders.

source: express.co.uk