Washington 0
30 March 2019

On Twitter, President Trump cited a New York Times opinion piece arguing that "the Trump administration has succeeded in dramatically raising the costs to Iran for its sinister behaviour, at no cost to the U.S. or our allies. That's the definition of a foreign policy achievement". Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif replied with a tweet of his own, arguing that President Trump "is grasping at every straw to portray his failed Iran policy as a success. [The] only thing proven is that he rejoices over the misery that he thinks he has imposed on ordinary Iranians". "Like his predecessors", Zarif predicted, "he will learn that Iranians never submit to pressure". On 1 April, National Security Advisor John Bolton also referred to the article, commenting that "for too long the Iranian regime fomented conflict and instability to expand its influence and threaten its neighbours with little cost for its action. No more. We will continue to apply maximum pressure until Tehran abandons its unacceptable behaviour". 

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