Silhouette of president holding gun to his head accompanies quote from supreme leader warning US against military confrontation with Iran
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tweeted an image of what appears to be President Barack Obama shooting himself in the head, even as his country’s most senior diplomat condemned the US for aggressive language.
The image, which was posted on Khamenei’s Twitter account on Saturday, shows a silhouette of a man with prominent ears and wearing a pin of an American flag on his suit lapel, holding a gun to his head.
The accompanying text is a quote by Khamenei from July 18, which says: “We welcome no war, nor do we initiate any war, but if any war happens, the one who will emerge loser will be the aggressive and criminal US.”
The image is highly stylized and reminiscent of the opening credits for the TV series Mad Men, in which a suit-clad figure in silhouette is seen falling from the window a tall building.
US president has said he could knock out Iran’s military. We welcome no war, nor do we initiate any war, but.. pic.twitter.com/D4Co7fVuVg
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) July 25, 2015
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday mocked Secretary of State John Kerry for a veiled warning that the US had not ruled out a military strike should Iran be found to be in violation of the agreement on its nuclear program agreed last week with world powers.
Kerry said in a Washington Post op-ed jointly written with Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz published Thursday that the nuclear deal “extends the time Iran would need to develop a nuclear weapon, provides strong verification measures that give us ample time to respond if Iran chooses that path, and takes none of our options off the table.”
“The US should know that it has no other option but respecting Iran and showing modesty towards the country and saying the right thing,” Rouhani told a crowd in the western Iranian city of Sanandij on Sunday.
“The table they are talking about has broken legs,” he said.
The US has previously objected to Iranian rhetoric, most recently Khamenei’s calls of “Death to America” at an official rally. Kerry said Friday that he has urged the Iranian government to cease calls for the demise of the US and Israel.
Khamenei’s official Twitter account was opened in March 2009, despite the fact that the micro-blogging website is off-limits to regular Iranians, and now has more than 140,000 followers. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Rouhani also have accounts, although only Zarif has the “blue tick” of an authenticated account normally bestowed upon public figures. Both Zarif and Rouhani follow the ayatollah on Twitter.