The US and Iran have entered into a new war of words after Donald Trump’s White House was branded as ‘mentally retarded’ by Tehran.

The US President has now threatened to obliterate parts of Iran if it attacked ‘anything American.’

The latest spat started when the US announced fresh economic sanctions on Monday against the Middle Eastern nation.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the sanctions were ‘outrageous and idiotic’ and the actions of an administration that is ‘mentally retarded.’

Mr Trump hit back on Twitter, saying the comments showed that Iran’s leaders ‘do not understand reality.’

Monday’s sanctions targeted a number of individuals, notably Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni, who Mr Trump said was ‘ultimately responsible for the hostile conduct of the regime.’

The US say Iran’s Supreme Leader has access to vast wealth, which is funding the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps.

More sanctions against other senior figures are set to follow.

In a televised address on Tuesday, President Rouhani said the sanctions would have no practical impact because the top cleric had no assets abroad.

He questioned why the US would single out a man, he claimed only has a prayer venue and a simple house.

He added: ‘The White House’s actions mean it is mentally retarded.’

President Rouhani then accused the US of lying by saying it wanted to negotiate while at the same time deploying sanctions.

The Iran president is said to be a pragmatist who won two elections by promising to open up his country to the world.

While other Iranian officials have used the insult in the past about Trump, it is a departure in rhetoric for the usually measured Rouhani.

Mr Trump then took to Twitter and threatened to ‘obliterate’ Iran.

He wrote: ‘Iran leadership doesn’t understand the words “nice” or “compassion.”

He added: ‘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.’

Mr Trump then rowed back slightly, saying Iran should speak to the US ‘peaceable’ to ease tensions and potentially lift the US sanctions.

Hinting at negotiation, he said: ‘Whatever they want to do, I’m ready. Their country is not doing well economically at all.

‘That could be changed very quickly, very easily.

‘But they have to get rid of the hostility from the leadership.’

The US has imposed crippling financial sanctions against Iran since last year when Trump withdrew from a 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers under which Iran curbed its nuclear programme.

Tensions between the two nations have escalated dramatically since.

Last month the Trump administration ordered all countries to halt the purchases of Iranian oil.

That has now effectively starved the Iranian economy of the main source of revenue that Tehran uses to import food for its 81 million population.

That has left Iran with no benefits to show for agreeing to the nuclear arrangement.

Last week, Iran shot down a US drone leading Trump to declare he had called off a retaliatory air strike with just minutes to spare.

If carried out, it would have been the first time the US had bombed Iran in four decades of mutual hostility.

Source: Read Full Article