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Iran is playing with fire – Trump

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Trump: U.S. nuclear arsenal “more powerful than ever before”

President Donald Trump on Friday, issued a strong “red flag” warning saying “Iran is playing with fire”.

This was part of a diplomatic spat over Iran’s latest ballistic missile test this week.

Mr. Trump in tweet also said that the Iranian government didn’t appreciate how “kind” the US under former President Barack Obama had been to them – a potential reference to the nuclear deal struck with the US and other world powers in 2015 where Iran’s nuclear capability was reduced in return for a loosening of sanctions.

He warned that he would not follow a similar path.

Reacting to Mr. Trump’s warning, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, also on Twitter said that the his country is unmoved by US threats following its missile test launch and Tehran will never initiate war.

“Iran unmoved by threats as we derive security from our people. Will never initiate war, but we can only rely on our own means of defence,” Mr Zarif tweeted.

The diplomatic spat follows a tweet from President Trump on Thursday said that he had put Iran “on notice” over the missile test that could be in contravention of a UN resolution.

He added that Tehran in that should have been “thankful” for the nuclear deal as the country was on “its last legs”.

The warnings though appear as an early manifestation of the president’s promise of a tougher American approach to Iran, but the Thursday tweet received an angry response in Tehran – which may have prompted the latest outburst.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi was quoted by state TV as saying: “Instead of thanking Iran for its continued fight against terrorism … the American government is practically helping the terrorists by claims about Iran that are baseless, repetitive and provocative.”

Kayode Adelowokan, New York

NEWSVERGE, published by The Verge Communications is an online community of international news portal and social advocates dedicated to bringing you commentaries, features, news reports from a Nigerian-African perspective. The Verge Communications (NEWSVERGE) is fully registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a corporate organization.

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