White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned Iran that it will face “serious consequences” if any U.S. citizens are targeted by the rogue regime. Sullivan’s warning yesterday comes after Iranian officials sanctioned dozens of Americans to mark the two-year anniversary of Donald Trump having greased the terrorist mastermind and leader of Iran’s Quds Force, General Qasem Soleimani, in a precision missile strike on January 3, 2020, near Baghdad International Airport.

Got that? Trump punches the mullahs, and the mullahs threaten Joe Biden two years later. Weakness is indeed provocative.

Sullivan, whose name sounds like that of a bare-knuckle brawler but whose visage looks like that of a pharmacist, probably isn’t striking much fear into the hearts of the mullahs. After all, he works for Scranton Joe Biden. In addition, the heaviest lifting Sullivan has done to date was likely his role in helping Hillary Clinton frame Trump in the Democrats’ phony Russia-collusion hoax.

Still, Sullivan did his best: “Yesterday, Iran purported to impose sanctions on 52 Americans,” he said. “They do so as Iran’s proxy militias continue to attack American troops in the Middle East, and as Iranian officials threaten to carry out terror operations inside the United States and elsewhere around the world. Make no mistake: the United States of America will protect and defend its citizens. This includes those serving the United States now and those who formerly served.”

This last sentence is noteworthy, because it makes clear to the Iranians that while there is precious little common ground between the Biden and Trump administrations, there will nonetheless be no tolerance for an attack on, say, former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. As Sullivan put it: “We have our disagreements on Iran policy. But we are united in our resolve against threats and provocations. We are united in the defense of our people.”

That’s as it should be. Soon we’ll see whether Iran is deadly serious about a retaliatory strike or is suffering from seasonal Baghdad Bob-itis. Iranian President Ebrahim Ebrasi has called for Trump and Pompeo to be put on trial, and if Soleimani’s replacement, Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani, is to be believed, we had better be vigilant here in the homeland. Ghaani spoke during the second anniversary of Soleimani’s “martyrdom,” and he stressed Iran’s dedication to avenging his predecessor’s death, vowing that the “ground for the hard revenge” will come from “within” the homes of Americans.

“The aggressor, murderer, and main culprit — the then-president of the United States — must be tried and judged under the [Islamic] law of retribution,” said Raisi, “and God’s ruling must be carried out against him.”

As for former Secretary of State Pompeo, he took the opportunity last week to remind us of why our nation carried out the defensive Soleimani strike, and to remind the Biden administration of its obligations: “Qasem Soleimani was actively engaged in plotting against America,” he said. “We took lawful military action to make sure that no Americans were killed. American leadership now has the responsibility to keep every American safe against the threat from Iran.”

One last point: If the Iranians do indeed intend to strike us here at home, their efforts will have been made much easier by the porous nature of our southern border. And nothing that Joe Biden or Jake Sullivan can do or say now will change that.