Trump Slams Pakistan, Iran in First Tweets of Year

He says Iran is 'failing at every level'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 1, 2018 10:26 AM CST
Trump Slams Pakistan, Iran in First Tweets of Year
First lady Melania Trump looks on as Preside Trump speaks with reporters after arriving for a New Year's Eve gala at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017, in Palm Beach, Fla.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

If President Trump's New Year's resolution was to get tough on Pakistan and Iran, he's off to a great start. If it was to tone down his use of Twitter, not so much. Trump laid into Pakistan in his first tweet of the year, saying the US "has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools." He added: "They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!" The tweet follows reports that Trump is considering cutting off aid to Pakistan. Khawaja Asif, Pakistan's foreign affairs minister, says the country is preparing a response to Trump that will let the world know the difference "between facts and fiction," the Hill reports.

In a second Monday morning tweet, Trump slammed Iran amid reports that at least 12 people had been killed in anti-government protests. "Iran is failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration," he tweeted. "The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!" The White House says Trump, who celebrated New Year's Eve at an event at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, plans to host father-and-son pro golfers Fred and Taylor Funk at the Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach Monday before returning to Washington later in the day, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. (More Pakistan stories.)

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