Iran on Monday dismissed an angry warning from U.S. President Donald Trump that Tehran risked dire consequences “the like of which few throughout history have suffered before” if it made threats against the United States.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hit back at Trump’s warning, which the U.S. leader delivered written in capital letters in a late-night tweet.

“COLOR US UNIMPRESSED: The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard them - albeit more civilized ones - for 40 yrs. We’ve been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries,” Zarif wrote on Twitter.

“BE CAUTIOUS!” he wrote in capital letters, echoing exact words from Trump.

Iran has been under increasing U.S. pressure and possible sanctions since Trump’s decision in May to withdraw the United States from a 2015 agreement between world powers and Iran over its disputed nuclear program.

Bitter foes since Iran’s 1979 revolution, Washington and Tehran have cranked up talk of war in recent days.

The Trump administration has launched an offensive of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest and help pressure Iran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups.

Despite the heightened rhetoric, both sides have reasons to want to avoid starting a conflict.

Trump’s words appeared to be in response to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani saying that hostile policies toward Tehran could lead to “the mother of all wars.”

In his tweet directed at Rouhani, Trump wrote: “Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before. We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented words of violence & death. Be cautious!”

Rouhani had told a gathering of Iranian diplomats on Sunday: “Mr Trump, don’t play with the lion’s tail, this would only lead to regret.”

“America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars,” said Rouhani, quoted by the state news agency IRNA. (Reuters)

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