US National Security Adviser John Bolton on Tuesday issued a warning to Iran, telling the regime in a fiery speech in New York that there will be "hell to pay" if it continues on its current course.
"If you cross us, our allies, or our partners ... yes, there will indeed be hell to pay," said Bolton, who was quoted by Fox News, in a speech before the United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) annual summit.
"According to the mullahs in Tehran, we are 'the Great Satan,' lord of the underworld, master of the raging inferno," Bolton said. "So, I might imagine they would take me seriously when I assure them today: If you cross us, our allies, or our partners; if you harm our citizens; if you continue to lie, cheat and deceive, yes, there will indeed be hell to pay."
"The ayatollahs have a choice to make. We have laid out a path toward a bright and prosperous future for all of Iran, one that is worthy of the Iranian people, who have long suffered under the regime’s tyrannical rule," added Bolton.
Iran, he continued, "brazenly supports the criminal Assad regime in Syria" and was "complicit in Assad's chemical weapons attacks on his own people." He also called Iran the world's "worst kidnapper of US citizens."
Bolton also dismissed the Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran, saying it was "the worst diplomatic debacle in American history."
US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran deal in May. Recently, the President signed an executive order officially reinstating US sanctions against Iran.
The deal contained numerous provisions -- including "weasel words," Bolton said Tuesday -- that White House officials found insufficient, such as limited inspection mechanisms to ensure Iran's compliance with the deal, as well as sunset provisions that would lift various restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in as little as 10 years. READ MORE
