*By Alisha Haridasani* President Trump on Sunday lashed out against Iranian president Hassan Rouhani on Twitter, deepening the tension between the two countries. “Never, ever threaten the United States again,” the president admonished in an all-caps [tweet](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1021234525626609666). “You will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before.” Trump’s tweet followed Rouhani’s own incendiary message for the U.S., which warned the American president not to “play with the lion’s tail,” because a war with Iran would be the “mother of all wars.” Throughout his presidency, Trump has decried America's softening relationship with Iran. In May, he withdrew from the landmark nuclear deal, agreed to in 2015 by Iran and a group of world powers, and reinstated sanctions against the country. Last month, the United States also explored sanctioning all of Iran’s oil exports. Trump’s message to Iran echoes a tweet he addressed to the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last year. Relations with North Korea took a surprising turn after that, culminating in a historic meeting between the two leaders in Singapore in June.
