Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly warned Tehran in the follow-up to President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, that if it harms Israel, the American military will respond.
The news was first reported by Israeli news site Walla on Thursday and picked up by the Times of Israel.
According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned, “I repeat: Whoever hurts us – we will hurt them sevenfold, and whoever is preparing to hurt us – we will act to hit them first.”
Following a deadly exchange between Iran’s Quds Forces and Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF) in Syria on Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reportedly said Iran does not want “new tensions” in the region.
Retaliatory attacks carried out by Israel over Damascus and which targeted dozens of Iran-run military bases in Syria will reportedly set Iran back by “several months.”
Iran’s Parliament speaker Ali Larijani says Iran could restart its nuclear program.
Several members of parliament, on Wednesday, set the U.S. flag and a copy of the nuclear agreement (JCPOA) on fire following Trump’s historic and long-anticipated announcement that Washington was exiting the Iran nuclear deal.
They reportedly also chanted, “Death to America;” a hallmark of anti-American protests in Iran.
During his speech, President Trump made a point to send a direct message to the Iranian people, as he has frequently done in the past.
“The people of America stand with you,” Trump said. “It has now been almost 40 years since this dictatorship seized power and took a proud nation hostage… But the future of Iran belongs to its people. They are the rightful heirs to a rich culture and an ancient land, and they deserve a nation that does justice to their dreams, honor to their history and glory to God.”
Despite the Iranian regime’s plan to hold anti-American protests after Friday prayers in an attempt to make it appear as though Iranians are against Washington’s move and with the Islamic Republic’s ruling clerical class, experts and analysts believe a series of renewed uprisings against the ever-weakening regime could gain traction.
Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.