Trump and Pompeo Troll Iran

Trump and Pompeo Troll Iran

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Since President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran Nuclear deal, he’s ramped up his incendiary rhetoric towards the Islamic Republic. Trump tweeted in all caps, around midnight on Sunday, “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. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!”. The White House maintains the tweet was in response to threats from Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani, and Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Meanwhile on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, made hawkish statements aimed at Iran’s leadership at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. He cited numerous examples of alleged graft and corruption by Iranian government leaders, like Grand Ayatollah Makaram Shirazi. Pompeo called him the “Sultan of Sugar”, accusing him of “illicit trading of sugar, which has generated over $100 million for him.”  Some observers thought Pompeo and Trump were “trolling” Iranian leadership, in a coordinated effort. We’ll discuss the row with historian Mateo Farzeneh, associate professor of history and inaugural principal of The Mossadegh Initiative at Northeastern Illinois University-Chicago. He’s author of the book, The Iranian Constitutional Revolution and the Clerical Leadership of Khurasani.