Washington: US President Donald Trump on Saturday pledged to hit Iran with “major” new sanctions as Tehran warned Washington that any attack would see its interests across the Mid-dle East go up in flames.
The war of words heated up after Trump had pulled back from military action against Iran in response to its downing of a US reconnaissance drone.
That incident, which came after a series of attacks on tankers in the congested shipping lanes out of the Gulf that the US has blamed on Iran, exacerbated already tense relations between the two countries.
Iran has denied responsibility for those attacks.
Trump, who spent Saturday huddling with his advisers at Camp David, initially told repo-rters that he was keen to be Iran’s “best friend” — if the country agreed to renounce nuclear weapons.
“When they agree to that, they’re going to have a wealthy country. They’re going to be so happy, and I’m going to be their best friend,” he told reporters.
Trump said he’s still considering military action against Iran saying the use of force is “always on the table until we get this solved.”
Meanwhile, US National Security Adviser John Bolton warned Tehran on Sunday of misinterpreting as “weakness” President Donald Trump's last-minute cancellation of a retaliatory strike on Iran.
