Hillary Clinton's 2016 warning on Donald Trump resurfaces amid Iran tensions

As the United States and Iran prepare for talks amid a fragile ceasefire, an old video of Hillary Clinton has surfaced, with many calling her words prophetic in light of President Donald Trump's recent rhetoric and actions. During her unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2016, Clinton had attacked Trump by claiming that his presidency could lead to a global economic crisis and said that rather than solving global crises, Trump "would create new ones."

"He should not have the nuclear codes because it's very easy to imagine Donald Trump leading us into a war just because someone got under his very thin skin. We cannot let him roll the dice with America," the former Secretary of State had said as the Democratic frontrunner on the eve of primary elections in 2016. Additionally, Clinton had listed out "letting ISIS run wild", "launching a nuclear attack", and "starting a ground war" as "distinct possiblities with Donald Trump in charge." In a separate tweet, Clinton reiterated the statement, writing, "A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons."

Clinton's old comments resurfaced this week after the President threatened to destroy "an entire civilisation" in a social media post. Before announcing the ceasefire, the terms of which remain unclear, Trump threatened Iran to open the all-important Strait of Hormuz or face complete annihilation. "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to ​be brought back ​again. I don’t want that ‌to ⁠happen, but it probably will," Trump wrote in a post on ​Truth ​Social. "However, now that we have complete and total regime change, where different, smarter, and less radicalised minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, who knows? We will find out tonight," he added.

The President's statement faced severe criticism from Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans. A group of Democratic lawmakers also called for an invocation of the 25th Amendment, which allows for the removal of a president on grounds of incapacitation. In an official statement, Democratic Senator Ed Markey wrote, "The House must pass articles of impeachment, and then the Senate must vote to convict and remove the President. Or, the cabinet and Vice President, with congressional concurrence, must invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump."

But in a relief to world leaders and U.S. lawmakers, Pakistan managed to broker a two-week ceasefire deal between Iran and the U.S. on condition that Tehran would keep the Strait of Hormuz open during the period negotiations were being held. However, reports confirmed that Israeli and Iranian strikes continued hours after the ceasefire announcement, with Tehran claiming its action as retaliation for Israeli attacks on Lebanon. While Pakistan and Iran claimed that a complete halt on attacks on Lebanon was part of the deal, both the U.S. and White House have rejected it.