Trump threatens to 'end Iran' as tensions escalate

Trump warned Iran to stop threatening the US and not to contemplate instigating a conflict or it would “end” the Islamic Republic.

As tensions between both countries escalated, Trump tweeted on Sunday: “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!”.

In recent weeks, the US had deployed additional warships and planes to the Gulf amid worsening tensions between the two sides, with Trump vowing at the weekend that he would not allow Tehran to develop nuclear weapons.

"I just don't want them to have nuclear weapons, and they can't be threatening us. And with all of everything that's going on, and I'm not one that believes -- you know, I'm not somebody that wants to go into war, because war hurts economies, war kills people most importantly - by far most importantly," he told Fox News in an interview.

The current tensions began when President Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and a group of countries that also included China, Russia, France, Germany, the UK and the European Union, which put a stop to activities that might facilitate the development of a nuclear arsenal in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Since the withdrawal, the Trump administration had reimposed sanctions on Iran, resulting in a deep economic crisis which had impacted key industries such as oil and automobiles.

Iran's foreign minister downplayed the risk of a war during the weekend, saying: "There will not be a war since neither we want a war nor does anyone have the illusion they can confront Iran in the region.”