Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi
Iran said on Monday U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's speech against Iran's clerical rulers was an interference in its affairs, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
"The U.S. secretary of state’s hypocritical and absurd speech in the gathering was only a propaganda exercise and showed the unlimited desperation of the U.S. administration more than ever,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said.
“These remarks are a clear example of the country’s (the U.S.’s) interference in Iran's internal affairs and exactly in line with its long-term destabilizing and destructive policies in the region, which are in violation of its international obligations,” he added.
Pompeo on Sunday denounced Iran's leaders as a "mafia" and promised unspecified backing for Iranians unhappy with their government.
Overnight threats by President Donald Trump against Iran amount to "psychological warfare", and Tehran will continue to resist its enemies, a senior commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying on Monday."We will never abandon our revolutionary beliefs ... we will resist pressure from enemies... America wants nothing less than (to) destroy Iran ... (but) Trump cannot do a damn thing against Iran," Iranian Students News Agency ISNA reported Gholamhossein Gheybparvar as saying.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday that Trump's hostile policies toward Tehran could lead to "the mother of all wars", according to a report by state new agency IRNA.Trump warns Iran to 'never, ever threaten' US or suffer consequencesTrump reacted in a late Sunday night Twitter message written in capitals, telling Rouhani to "never, ever threaten the United States again" or face the consequences.U.S. officials familiar with the matter told Reuters that an ongoing communications offensive by the Trump administration was meant to work in conjunction with a sanctions push to foment unrest and help pressure Iran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups. 
Iran will resist Trump's 'psychological warfare,' says senior Guards commander
“Throughout history, Iranians have never accepted any foreigner’s domination and bullying policies, and certainly, in these sensitive conditions, they not only give no importance to the policies of the current president and the warmongering minority of the US…, but also will respond to such statements and meddlesome moves by the US officials and politicians with their exemplary solidarity,” Qasemi further emphasized.
Pompeo, in a California speech to a largely Iranian-American audience, dismissed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who negotiated a nuclear deal with the United States and five other countries, as "merely polished front men for the ayatollahs' international con artistry."
U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew in May from the 2015 nuclear accord designed to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Iran "is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government," Pompeo said, citing what he called Iranian leaders' vast wealth and corruption.
U.S. President Donald Trump told Iran it risked dire consequences "the like of which few throughout history have suffered before" if the Islamic Republic made more threats against the United States.His words, spelled out in capital letters in a late night Twitter message, came hours after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told Trump that hostile policies toward Tehran could lead to "the mother of all wars."Despite the heightened rhetoric, both sides have reasons to want to avoid starting a conflict that could easily escalate.Trump's comments come in the context of a barrage of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest and pressure Iran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups, according to U.S. officials.Iran has faced increased U.S. pressure and possible sanctions since Trump's decision in May to withdraw the United States from a 2015 international agreement over Iran's nuclear program.In his message 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!".Earlier on Sunday, Rouhani had told a gathering of Iranian diplomats: "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.Rouhani left open the possibility of peace between the two countries, at odds since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. But Iran's most powerful authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday negotiations with the United States would be an "obvious mistake".To Iranian President Rouhani: 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!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 23 Temmuz 2018 Rouhani also scoffed at Trump's threat to halt Iranian oil exports and said Iran has a dominant position in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping waterway.A senior commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards reacted angrily to Trump's threats by saying Tehran would continue to resist its enemies, Iran's Students news Agency ISNA reported."We will never abandon our revolutionary beliefs ... we will resist pressure from enemies ... America wants nothing less than (to) destroy Iran ... (but) Trump cannot do a damn thing against Iran," Brigadier General Gholamhossein Gheybparvar said.White House national security adviser John Bolton, who has in the past called for air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, said :"President Trump told me that if Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid before", according to a White House statement.Iran slams Pompeo's 'mafia' remark as 'hypocritical, absurd'Trump says he 'gave up nothing' at Putin meetingWar of WordsTrump's threat to Iran came hours after a speech by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who denounced Iran's clerical leadership as a "mafia" and promised unspecified backing for Iranians unhappy with their government.Tehran reacted to Pompeo's speech as an interference in Tehran's affairs, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported."Such policies will unite Iranians who will overcome plots against their country," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is bitterly opposed to Iran, praised Trump's "strong stance" on Tehran.At the same time, Germany said threats of war were "never helpful".There is limited appetite in Washington for a conflict with Iran, not least because of the difficulties the U.S. military faced in Iraq after its 2003 invasion but also because of the impact on the global economy if conflict raised oil prices.Many ordinary Iranians are worried that the war of words might lead to a military confrontation but insiders in Tehran told Reuters that the U.S. administration would not drag the country into another quagmire in the Middle East.With popular discontent over Iran’s faltering economy and sliding currency, and the prospect of tough new U.S. sanctions, Iran's leaders have called for unity.Iran will resist Trump's 'psychological warfare,' says senior Guards commanderMany ordinary Iranians are largely skeptical of the Trump administration's support for Iranian citizens because of the harsh U.S. sanctions on the country and a visa ban imposed on Iranians barring them from entering the United States.While Washington prepares to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran after pulling out of the nuclear deal, Iran's faction-ridden religious and political elites have closed ranks against Trump's hawkish approach to Tehran.However, growing strains with the U.S. will eventually boost Rouhani's anti-Western hardline rivals who fear losing power if the nuclear deal, championed by Rouhani, ended the country’s political and economic isolation.Rouhani's apparent threat earlier this month to disrupt oil shipments from neighboring countries came in reaction to efforts by Washington to force all countries to stop buying Iranian oil.Washington initially planned to shut Iran out of global oil markets completely after Trump abandoned the deal that limited Iran's nuclear ambitions, demanding all other countries stop buying Iranian crude by November.But the United States has somewhat eased its stance, saying it may grant sanction waivers to some allies that are particularly reliant on Iranian supplies. 
Trump warns Iran to 'never, ever threaten' US or suffer consequences
Pompeo's speech was the latest step in a communications offensive launched by the Trump administration that is meant to foment unrest in Iran and help pressure its government to end its nuclear program and support of militant groups, U.S. officials familiar with the matter said.
The offensive is meant to work in concert with severe economic sanctions that Washington plans to reimpose in the coming months, including on Tehran's oil exports, its principal revenue generator.
The United States will work with countries that import Iranian oil "to get imports as close to zero as possible" by Nov. 4, Pompeo said.
Rouhani cautioned Trump on Sunday about pursuing hostile policies against Tehran, saying: "War with Iran is the mother of all wars." But he did not rule out peace between the two countries.
A moderate earthquake shook southern Iran Monday morning, injuring at least 79 people, according to reports on Iranian state television.The quake’s epicenter was reportedly located near the village of Sirch in Iran’s south-central Kerman province, roughly 1,000 kilometers southeast of capital Tehran.According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake -- which was reportedly followed by several smaller aftershocks -- measured 5.9 on the Richter scale.One day earlier, Iran’s southern and western regions were shaken by a series of tremors that reportedly left some 300 people injured in their wake.Last November, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake killed more than 600 people in western Iran.
Southern Iran rattled by earthquake; 79 hurt
"You are not in a position to incite the Iranian nation against Iran's security and interests," Rouhani said, in an apparent reference to reports of efforts by Washington to destabilize Iran's Islamic government.
Publicly, the Trump administration says its policy with Iran is not "regime change," but to change Tehran's behavior so it stops nuclear and missile work, support for proxies in the Middle East and backing of militant groups.
"While it is ultimately up to the Iranian people to determine the direction of their country, the United States ... will support the long-ignored voice of the Iranian people," Pompeo said.