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May 19, 2019

Trump warns Iran not to threaten US: 'If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran'

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images, FILE
President Donald Trump speaks about infrastructure at the Cameron LNG Export Facility in Hackberry, La., May 14, 2019.
By Mina Kaji

President Donald Trump issued a strong warning to Iran Sunday, tweeting that military engagement with the United States would mean "the official end of Iran."

Trump's threat comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The New York Times reported last week that the administration was considering sending as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East if Iran attacked "American forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons." Trump denied the report, but added he would "send a hell of a lot more troops than that" if it happened.

When asked by a reporter on Thursday whether or not the U.S. was going to war with Iran, President Trump replied, "I hope not."

Earlier this month, the United States deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East in response to "clear indications" Iran or its proxies were planning an attack on U.S. forces in the region, U.S. officials told ABC News. The Pentagon announced on May 10 it was sending a Patriot anti-missile battery to the area as well as a further deterrent. On Wednesday, the State Department ordered all non-emergency personnel at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and the U.S. consulate in Erbil, Iraq, to leave.

MORE: Pentagon deploying Patriot anti-missile battery to Middle East to further deter Iranian threat
Mcsn Jason Waite/Navy Office of Information/AFP/Getty Images
The USS Abraham Lincoln and USNS Arctic are pictured as helicopters transfer stores between the ships, May 8, 2019. The US is deploying ships and bombers to the Gulf, to put pressure on Iran.

In an interview that aired earlier on Sunday, Gen. David Petraeus, the retired four-star general who led troops into battle during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, told ABC's "This Week" Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz that he believes Trump doesn't want to go to war with Iran.

"It’s pretty clear that [Trump] doesn't want to go to war with Iran.," Petraeus said. "He’s not after regime change."

MORE: President Trump 'doesn't want to go to war with Iran,' says Gen. David Petraeus

This is not the first time the president has issued a public warning to the Islamic Republic.

On Tuesday, Pentagon officials are expected to brief Congress about the intelligence that generated the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and B-52's to deter Iran.

ABC News' Luis Martinez, Elizabeth McLaughlin, and Quinn Scanlan contributed to this report.

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