Afrasianet - US President Donald Trump apparently decided not to start the New Year with a clean slate, opting to re-ignite old disputes instead. In his first 2018 tweets, the US leader hit out at Iran and Pakistan.

Islamabad was the first to attract the anger of the US leader, as Trump accused it of giving the US “nothing but lies & deceit” in exchange for billions of dollars worth of aid. The president also accused Pakistan of providing safe haven to terrorists that the US is fighting in neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistan enjoys certain privileges, including financial aid and access to military technologies, as one of 16 nations that the US designated as ‘Non-NATO Major Allies.’ According to the US media, it has received $33 billion in aid since 2002. However, relations between Washington and Islamabad soured in 2016.

In an August speech in which he unveiled the US strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia, Trump slammed Pakistan for “sheltering terrorists” and threatened to reduce aid to the country if it continues to “harbor criminals and terrorists.” At that time, the US also decided to withhold $255 million in military assistance until Pakistan did more to combat terrorism.

Islamabad responded to Trump’s tweet by saying it does not need the US aid, and by denouncing Washington’s financial assistance as “paltry.” “We do not need any financial assistance from the United States. We do not care about it. If America wants to stop it, we will loudly say go ahead,” Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Muhammad Faisal said, as cited by the local daily The Nation. He added that, if the US withheld its aid from the Coalition Support Fund, it would “hardly make any difference.”