Donald Trump
Donald TrumpReuters

US President Donald Trump on Sunday warned Iran not to threaten his country.

“If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!” he tweeted.

The tweet comes as tensions between the US and Iran have intensified in the past week, after the US military deployed an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Middle East. US officials said the move was made to counter “clear indications” of threats from Iran to American forces in the region.

Last week, Trump warned that Iran would “suffer greatly” if it targeted US interests.

“We’ll see what happens with Iran. If they do anything, it will be a very bad mistake. If they do anything they will suffer greatly,” he told reporters.

Previously, Trump urged Iran’s leaders to talk with him about giving up their nuclear program but also made clear he could not rule out a military confrontation with the Islamic Republic.

Iran rejected Trump’s overture, with Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying, “The solution does not lie in the mediations or the phone call and the US has our phone numbers too.”

On Friday, a US official said the United States is "sitting by the phone" but has heard no message yet from Iran that it is willing to accept Trump's overtures for direct talks.

"We think they should de-escalate and come to negotiations," the official, who declined to be identified, said.