Trump Responds to 'Clown' Barb From Iran's Leader

'He should be very careful with his words!'
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 18, 2020 6:00 AM CST
Trump Responds to 'Clown' Barb From Iran's Leader
President Trump attends a signing ceremony for a US-China trade agreement in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Wednesday.   (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

First there was MAGA; now there's MIGA. That stands for "Make Iran Great Again," which was President Trump's message to Iranian leadership Friday during a tense tweet-off between himself and Ayatollah Ali Khameini. This week, for the first time since 2012, Khameini delivered a Friday sermon, and he didn't hold back on what he thought of the US president, calling him a "clown" and noting Iran won't negotiate on its nuclear weapons program, per Politico. Khameini also blasted Britain, France, and Germany as "contemptible" governments after those nations triggered a dispute mechanism to try to bring Iran back into the 2015 nuclear agreement. Trump wasn't about to let any of this slide, heading to Twitter to take Khameini on. "He should be very careful with his words!" Trump tweeted about "the so-called 'Supreme Leader' of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately."

Khameini actually responded on his English-language account, per Politico. "The villainous US govt repeatedly says that they are standing by the Iranian ppl," he posted."They lie. If you are standing by the Iranian ppl, it is only to stab them in the heart with your venomous daggers. Of course, you have so far failed to do so, & you will certainly continue to fail." Trump's response, posted in both English and Farsi: "The noble people of Iran—who love America—deserve a government that's more interested in helping them achieve their dreams than killing them for demanding respect. Instead of leading Iran toward ruin, its leaders should abandon terror and Make Iran Great Again!" Tensions have run especially high between the US and Iran after a US drone strike killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad earlier this month. (More Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stories.)

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