Trump issues threats to both Iran and Iraq

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose harsh sanctions if US troops are forced to leave Iraq. Trump also reiterated his threats against Iran.

Trump reiterated his threats to Iran after the Iraqi parliament voted on Sunday to end the presence of US and other foreign troops.

Trump reacted to the vote saying: "We will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever. It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame."

The US president added: "We have an extraordinarily expensive air base there. Its construction cost billions of dollars. We won't leave without cash the damages done to us."

As for Iran, Trump doubled down on threats to target Iranian cultural sites if Tehran retaliates.

"They’re allowed to kill our people. - he told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Washington - They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It doesn’t work that way."

Trump had twitted on Sunday: "Let this serve as a warning that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we will target 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, will be hit very fast and very hard. The USA wants no more threats!"

Iran response

Iranian religious leader Ali Khamenei's adviser Huseyin Dehgan said in an interview with CNN that Iran's response to the murder of general Qassem Suleimani would be "military and aimed at military facilities".

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif said that targeting cultural facilities would constitute "war crimes".

Iran had further distanced itself from the Nuclear Agreement, saying it would continue to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog but would respect no limits to its uranium enrichment work.