IRAN, SUDDENLY – AT 12:45 P.M. ET:  Last week it was Russia, now the spotlight suddenly switches to Iran as a result of some belligerent statements made by its supreme or almost-supreme leader.  From NBC News: 

President Donald Trump escalated a war of words with Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani with a menacing tweet late Sunday.

In the nearly all-caps tweet, Trump directly warned the Iranian president to “NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN,” adding that any new ones would bring "CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE.”

Trump’s tweet came hours after Rouhani’s own warning over the weekend, reported by Iranian state news agency IRNA, that Trump was playing “with the lion's tail.”

"America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," Rouhani said.

Trump called the comments “DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"

Should we take all this stuff seriously?  Some will say it was Trump being Trump in response to some internal propaganda from the Iranians.  But, in fact, Secretary of State Pompeo was also speaking toughly about Tehran, suggesting that his comments were coordinated with the White House.  From CNN:

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a scathing speech on Iran's leadership Sunday, accusing Tehran's ruling ayatollahs of spreading violence across the Middle East and lining their own pockets with ill-gotten gains at the expense of ordinary Iranians.

"The ideologues who forcibly came to power in 1979 and remain in power today are driven by a desire to conform all of Iranian society to the tenants of the Islamic Revolution. The regime is also committed to spreading the Revolution to other countries, by force if necessary," said Pompeo during a highly anticipated address at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Southern California is home to a significant portion of the Iranian diaspora living in the United States. Many of them fled Iran after the revolution that brought Iran's ayatollahs to power.

"To the regime, prosperity, security, and freedom for the Iranian people are acceptable casualties in the march to fulfill the Revolution," said Pompeo.

The secretary of state and former CIA director accused several members of Iran's leadership, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, of participating in widespread corruption.

COMMENT:  Iran, aided by European leftist and business interests, has been all over the Mideast, continues to threaten Israel's existence, and refuses to make additions to its nuclear agreement with the West that would give us greater safeguards against an Iranian atomic bomb. 

Expect to see new sanctions, and possible friction with our European "allies" over those sanctions.  Clearly, Trump is trying to get the Iranians to come to their senses, but the hardliners are in charge, and we can easily see the start of military buildups.  No one wants it to go that far, but Trump's cause is just, as it is in his dealings with North Korea.  We cannot settle for what Obama accepted – meaningless "agreements" and pledges that are quickly violatesk. that place our people at risk.

July 23,  2018