President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton was described by an Iran foreign ministry spokesman on Wednesday as a “chronic sadist” with an anti-Iran grudge who deserves to be taught “a lesson.”
Bahram Qassemi delivered his attack after Mr. Bolton said the U.S. will “squeeze” Iran “until the pips squeak” through the tough new round of trade sanctions now in force.
“We think the government is under real pressure and it’s our intention to squeeze them very hard,” Mr. Bolton said. “As the British say, squeeze them until the pips squeak.
“We are also going to significantly increase the enforcement of sanctions.”
The tone and language used by Mr Bolton was decried by the Iranian representative Bahram Qassemi, reports the semi-official Iranian ISNA newsagency.
“Time, history and the Iranian culture have always been able to teach the necessary lessons to scoundrels who make excessive demands and who rave and rant, and [have been able] to easily tame insane, recalcitrant and unruly individuals,” Qassemi said in a Wednesday statement.
“The cheap remarks by John Bolton, which indicate his bellicose nature and spiteful personality in dealing with Iranian people, are nothing new and remarkable,” he added.
“As he has shown since long ago, he has a long-standing grudge against Iranians. He has abnormal behaviour and suffers from chronic sadism against Iran,” Qassemi continued, before decrying the “undiplomatic” language used by Mr. Bolton.
Qassemi delivered a thinly-veiled threat that Iran fully intends to push back and that Mr. Bolton, “will certainly find the chance to understand the capability, vigilance and prudence of the Iranian nation and to get familiar with their history and culture.”
This is not the first time the Iranian regime has personally attacked Mr. Bolton.
In April, Iran’s top security official Ali Shamkhani, said it was “shameful” that the United States, which he described as a “seemingly superpower country,” had appointed a national security adviser who received “a salary from a terrorist sect,” referring to Mr. Bolton.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in July also accused him of being affiliated with terrorists, referring to the exiled Mujaheddin-e-Khalq (MEK) Iranian opposition group.
