Dr Mike Evans

Iran’s Supreme Leader banned from Twitter following video of simulated Trump assassination

The Twitter account of Iran’s Supreme Leader Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei has been permanently banned by the social platform, after he circulated a recent video that simulated the assassination of former US president Donald Trump.

The video portrayed Trump playing golf with former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and other people near his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The video noted, “Soleimani’s murderer and the one who gave the order will pay the price.”

The post shared by Khamenei is not the only threat against Trump from Iran in recent days. On January 3, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi also threatened both Trump and Pompeo in a speech marking the two-year anniversary of Quds Force Gen. Qassem Soleimani’s execution by US drones.

“If Trump and Pompeo are not tried in a fair court for the criminal act of assassinating General Soleimani, Muslims will take our martyr’s revenge,” Raisi said. Iran also recently imposed sanctions on 52 Americans it believes were involved in Soleimani’s assassination.

“Yesterday, Iran purported to impose sanctions on 52 Americans. 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,” White House Security Advisor Jake Sullivan responded.

“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,” he added. In addition to the threats, the first week of January saw multiple days of armed drone attacks targeting US troops in Iraq.

The culmination of activities does not look good for US President Joe Biden’s attempts to restart the 2015 Iranian deal. Despite recent meetings between the nations involved, Iran’s actions show a growing unwillingness to work with the US and others through diplomatic means to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.