President Donald Trump’s claims of “productive” talks with Iran and shared control of the Strait of Hormuz appear to have been mocked by an Iranian Embassy.
Trump came in for ridicule in a series of posts shared to X under the handle @IraninSA, an account that claims to belong to the Iran Embassy in South Africa. The account has been verified by X’s built-in AI, Grok, as being official and has both a link to the embassy’s website and an official email address for contact. Newsweek has reached out for comment.
Why It Matters
On Monday, Trump took to Truth Social to claim “very good and productive conversations” had taken place between the U.S. and Iran regarding a “complete and total resolution” of the Iran War. As a result, he opted to postpone planned strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five-day period as talks continue.
That same day, Trump also floated the idea to reporters that the U.S. could ultimately share control of the Strait of Hormuz with Iran. “Maybe me, me and the ayatollah, whoever the ayatollah, whoever the next ayatollah is,” he said. “And there will also be some form of regime change, very serious regime change.” Iran, however, has denied that any talks over an end to hostilities have taken place.
What To Know
Now Trump’s claims have come in for mockery from the Iran Embassy in South Africa.
One post shared to X featured a picture of the front dashboard of a car with a toy steering wheel affixed alongside the standard one. “The Strait of Hormuz will be controlled by me and the Ayatollah,” the caption reads, in reference to Trump’s claims. The inference being the visual satire is that Trump is unqualified to claim he is in “control” of anything in this scenario.
The post has been viewed 3.1 million times on X, with users applauding the embassy’s sassy response. “The trolling is epic tonight,” one said. “If anyone has the balls of steel, it’s Iran,” a second said, with a third adding: “This is not only Oil war but also meme war. And Iran nailing it hard in both.”
Some were simply struggling to make sense of what they were seeing. “An official government embassy account just posted a toy steering wheel meme during an active war and somehow this is not even the weirdest thing that happened today,” one account wrote.
This was not the end of the Iran Embassy in South Africa’s trolling though.
In another post, the Iran Embassy in South Africa account shared a screenshot of a spoof WhatsApp conversation between Trump, dubbed the “President of Peace” and the ayatollah. The fake conversation is presented as entirely one way, with a series of messages from Trump to the ayatollah.
“Hey Ayatollah, one reads. “Lets talk about the Straight for sure,” a second states soon after with a third saying: “Ooh, thats good to hear.” The fourth message says: “I will cease attacks for 5 days,” with the fifth concluding: “Thanks for your attention to this matter.”
Again, the inference is clear, with the caption accompanying the image reading “Good and productive talks with Iran” in reference to Trump’s claims. Reacting to this latest post, one user said: “Whoever is running this account deserves a promotion and a pay raise.” Another agreed: “Admin of this account deserves a raise, bessst troller.”
What Are People Saying
Trump on Truth Social: “I AM PLEASED TO REPORT THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE COUNTRY OF IRAN, HAVE HAD, OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS, VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. BASED ON THE TENOR AND TONE OF THESE IN DEPTH, DETAILED, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WHICH WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK, I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD, SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP”
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on X: “No negotiations have been held with the US. Fakenews [sic] is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped,”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei to IRNA News Agency: ““messages have been received from some friendly countries regarding the U.S.’s request for negotiations to end the war.”
