Bolivian President Evo Morales censures US for belligerent anti-Iran rhetoric

This picture released by the US Navy on May 8, 2019 shows the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) while conducting a replenishment-at-sea with the fast combat support ship USNS Arctic (T-AOE 9), while MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopters assigned to the "Nightdippers" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 5, transfer stores between the ships. (Via AFP)

Bolivian President Evo Morales has censured the United States for its aggressive rhetoric against Iran, saying Washington’s recent military buildup in the region is an attempt to boost its military industry.

“We condemn US threatening Iran with war and destruction and its attempt to deploy troops in the Middle East. Imperialism always seeks to keep the military industry at work,” Morales tweeted on Monday amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington.

His remarks followed an earlier tweet by US President Donald Trump, who warned that a fight with the United States would be “the official end of Iran.”

Trump posted his threatening tweet after Sunday's rocket attack on the Green Zone in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, where administrative buildings and foreign missions, including the US Embassy, are located.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came in the wake of back-to-back sudden decisions taken by the US recently, including the withdrawal of its “non-emergency” staff from Iraq.

Although the apparent Katyusha attack hurt no one and its target was not specified, Trump was quick to point the finger at Iran.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quick to respond to Trump’s latest hostile rhetoric, warning the US president to avoid threatening Iranians and advising him to try respect as the only reasonable way to approach the Iranian nation.Tensions mounted between Tehran and Washington last May, when Trump pulled his country out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and re-imposed harsh sanctions against the Islamic Republic in defiance of global criticism.

Trump and his hawkish advisers such as National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have since been stepping up pressure against Iranians.The tensions saw a sharp rise on the first anniversary of Washington’s exit from the deal as the US moved to ratchet up pressure on Iran by tightening its oil sanctions and sending military reinforcements, including an aircraft carrier strike group, a squadron of B-52 bombers, and a battery of patriot missiles, to the Persian Gulf region.