Iranian embassies use humour and satire to respond to Trump’s threats | The Express Tribune

Iranian diplomatic missions around the world responded to US President Donald Trump’s profanity-laden threat on April 5 regarding the Strait of Hormuz with an unusual social media campaign that relied on humour, satire and political commentary rather than official diplomatic protests.

Trump had warned Iran to reopen the strategic waterway or face attacks on infrastructure, according to reports.

According to Al Jazeera, Iranian embassies from Africa to Europe and Asia coordinated a series of social media posts that mocked the language and tone of Trump’s message, turning the episode into what the network described as a global online trolling campaign.

One of the most widely shared exchanges began when Iran’s embassy in Zimbabwe responded to Trump’s demand to “open the Strait” by joking that it had “lost the keys”. Other Iranian diplomatic missions joined the thread, extending the joke across multiple countries and platforms.

Al Jazeera reported that Iran’s embassy in South Africa replied that the “key” was hidden under a flowerpot and suggested it could be used “for friends”, while Iran’s embassy in Bulgaria added a pointed reference to Jeffrey Epstein, drawing attention to controversies that have surrounded Trump’s political opponents and associates.

Beyond humour, several Iranian missions sought to portray Trump as unfit for office. Posts from diplomatic accounts referenced the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution, which provides a mechanism for declaring a president unable to perform official duties.

According to Al Jazeera, the Iranian Embassy in South Africa said that “Humanity must know what kind of creatures are leading the American people.” The embassy also amplified criticism from British broadcaster Piers Morgan, who described Trump’s comments as embarrassing and suggested the president had “lost his marbles”.

Similar messaging later appeared from Iran’s embassy in Tajikistan.

Iran’s embassy in London adopted a literary approach. Rather than directly engaging Trump’s remarks, it shared a poem attributed to the Persian mystic Rumi about the danger of placing power in the hands of a madman, alongside a quotation commonly attributed to Mark Twain about the wisdom of remaining silent.

Al Jazeera further noted that several embassies criticised Trump’s use of profanity. Iran’s embassy in India described the language as behaviour associated with “sore loser brats” and told the US president to “get a grip”.

The embassy in Austria placed an “18+” warning label over a screenshot of Trump’s message and reminded Washington that attacks on civilian infrastructure would constitute a war crime. “POTUS has stooped to an unprecedented level of begging, laced with bitter, hollow rudeness and threats,” the mission in Vienna wrote.