'That's what happens when you listen to the mustache!' Iranian adviser mocks Trump for taking advice from hardliner John Bolton as president threatens to deploy 'a hell of a lot' of troops if U.S. interests are attacked
- Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan reportedly presented plan Thursday
- Plan does not call for land invasion of Iran, which would require far more troops
- Comes after ships in Persian Gulf were 'sabotaged', which was blamed on Iran
- President Trump warned Monday it would a 'very bad mistake' if Iran launched any attack in the Persian Gulf
- Britain's Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned of the danger of a conflict by 'accident'
- The Navy has dispatched the USS Abraham Lincoln to the Gulf
- Iran or its proxies were behind alleged 'sabotage' of four ships in the region, according to preliminary assessment by military investigators
An adviser to Iran's president mocked Donald Trump as being the poodle of his hardline national security adviser John Bolton Tuesday, as tensions with the U.S. in the Persian Gulf increased.
Hessamoddin Ashena, an adviser to Iranian president Hassan Rouhani tweeted: 'You wanted a better deal with Iran. Looks like you are going to get a war instead. That's what happens when you listen to the mustache. Good luck in 2020!'
The mustache was a reference to Bolton, Trump's 70-year-old neo-conservative aide who was once a vocal advocate of war on Iraq and is now seen as a hardline voice on Iran.
The mockery aimed at Trump came as the U.S. president knocked down a report that the Pentagon has presented the White House with a plan to deploy 120,000 troops to the Middle East if Iran attacks U.S. forces – then said he would send 'a hell of a lot more' if it came to that.
Trump brushed off the report when asked about it as he left the White House for Louisiana Tuesday.
'I think it's fake news, okay?' Trump said.
But even as he disputed a New York Times report, the president kept alive the possibility of inserting a major force into the region, where tensions are running high.
'Now would I do that? Absolutely,' Trump offered, after terming the report fake.
Ratcheting up the rhetoric: Trump spoke on the South Lawn of the White House to say he would send 'a hell of a lot more' troops to the Gulf than 120,000 if Iran stepped out of line
Mockery: An aide to the Iranian president painted Trump as a plaything of his national security adviser, who is known for his large mustache
Meet the mustache: John Bolton, 70, is a rare neo-conservative voice in the White House and is seen as being behind the escalation of tensions in the Gulf
'But we have not planned for that,' he said. 'But we have not planned for that. Hopefully we're not going to have to plan for that.'
'If we did that, we'd send a hell of a lot more troops than that,' Trump continued. Noting where the report originated, Trump added: 'Well the New York Times is fake news.'
Trump's rhetoric was matched by Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said his country won't negotiate with the United States.
Iran's state TV quoted Khamenei on Tuesday as calling negotiations with the U.S. 'poison' and saying: 'This is not a military confrontation, because no war is going to happen.'
Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, said: 'Neither we, nor they are seeking war, they know that it is not to their benefit.'
The situation in the Persian Gulf grew even more tense as it was revealed the Pentagon has presented the White House with a plan to deploy 120,000 troops to the Middle East if Iran attacks American forces
The plan for a large mobilization, an alarming echo of the Iraq War, comes after President Trump issued a tough warning to Iran, and military investigators have made a preliminary assessment that Iran or its proxies were behind an alleged 'sabotage' of four ships in the region.
Trump warned Monday it would a 'very bad mistake' if Iran launched any attack in the Persian Gulf.
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan presented the plan at a meeting of Donald Trump's top security aides on Thursday, reports the New York Times.
Several plans were detailed, the Times said, and 'the uppermost option called for deploying 120,000 troops, which would take weeks or months to complete' - and would be approaching the size of the force that invaded Iraq in 2003.
These plans do not call for a land invasion of Iran, which would require far more troops.
Build-up: Four B-52 bombers have been deployed to Qatar as part of the fresh deployment to the region
The White House is reportedly planning to deploy 120,000 troops to the Middle East if Iran attacks American forces in an alarming echo of the Iraq War. Pictured: A helicopter lands on the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed to the Persian Gulf over increased tensions with Iran
National Security Advisor John Bolton, who was present in the Oval Office Monday when Trump met with the right wing prime minister of Hungary, leads a group of hardliners who requested the plans, according to the report.
Bolton said Sunday: 'The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces.'
On Monday, Trump warned that Iran would 'suffer greatly' if it targeted U.S. interests.
He told reporters at the White House: 'We'll see what happens with Iran. If they do anything, it will be a very bad mistake.'
Trump's tough talk followed allegations of 'sabotage' on four oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.
Military investigators told CBS Iran or its proxies used explosives to blast holes in the four vessels.
Tensions spiked after President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal and announced a series of sanctions meant to isolate Iran.
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, pictured, presented the plan at a meeting of Donald Trump's top security aides on Thursday
The president's public schedule for Tuesday did not list any security meetings.
Tensions between Iran and the United States have intensified since Trump pulled out of a 2015 international deal to curb Iran's nuclear activities and imposed increasingly strict sanctions on Tehran.
Trump wants to force Tehran to agree to a broader arms control accord and has sent an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Gulf in a show of force against what U.S. officials have said are threats to U.S. troops in the region.
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Iran has said the U.S. is engaging in 'psychological warfare', called the U.S. military presence 'a target' rather than a threat and said it will not allow its oil exports to be halted.
The Times said among those attending the Thursday meeting were Trump's national security adviser John Bolton, CIA Director Gina Haspel, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford.
The news comes after an American military team claimed Iranian or Iranian-backed proxies used explosives to blow large holes in four ships anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.
The news comes after an American military team claimed Iranian or Iranian-backed proxies used explosives to blow large holes in four ship (pictured, A. Michel, one of the tankers damaged) anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday
Tensions between Iran and the United States have intensified since Trump pulled out of a 2015 international deal to curb Iran's nuclear activities and imposed increasingly strict sanctions on Tehran
Each ship has a five to 10ft hole in it, near or just below the water line, and the team's early belief is that the holes were caused by explosive charges.
Gulf officials have characterized the damage to the tankers as sabotage.
Two Saudi oil tankers, a Norwegian-flagged vessel, and a bunkering tanker flagged in Sharjah, one of the UAE's seven emirates, all suffered similar damage Sunday.
The U.S. has warned ships that 'Iran or its proxies' could be targeting maritime traffic in the region, and America has moved additional ships and aircraft into the region.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday called Iran a 'major destabilizing force' in the Middle East while Britain warned of the danger of a war being started in the Gulf by accident.
