On April 5, US President Donald Trump issued an expletive-laden threat to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, which is about to close and oil prices are soaring worldwide, or it would bomb its bridges and power plants.
“In Iran, Tuesday is Power Plant Day and Bridge Day, all rolled into one. There’s no better day than this!!! Open the fucking straits, you crazy son of a bitch, or you’ll live in hell – look! Praise be to Allah, President Donald J. Trump,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account, followed by a post on X.
His broadside remarks came days after he threatened to send Iran back to the “Stone Age” if it did not agree to a deal to end the war.
Meanwhile, Iran has avoided echoing President Trump’s statements. Instead, Iranian diplomatic missions around the world have trolled Trump on social media, offering sarcastic responses while dismissing his threats as “stupid.”
Iranian embassies from London to Pretoria and New Delhi to Moscow launched a sarcastic campaign on social media, attacking President Trump’s mental strength, mocking his language and sharing satirical memes.
The most talked-about exchange occurred over President Trump’s outspoken demand for “open straits.” The Iranian embassy in Zimbabwe casually told X that they had “lost their keys.”
The joke quickly snowballed across the continent.
The Iranian embassy in South Africa echoed this sentiment, telling Zimbabwe: “Hmm…the key is under the flowerpot. Open it for your friend.”
Taking this mockery a step further, the Iranian embassy in Bulgaria responded to the thread with a sharp jab, referring to the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein: “The door is open for friends. Epstein’s friends need keys.”
Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Trump’s political opponents have accused him of starting a war to distract from the release of millions of documents related to Epstein. The files were first released in late 2025, exposing Epstein’s connections to billionaires, academics and politicians. Trump is also mentioned multiple times in the file, but he denies any wrongdoing and claims he stopped communicating with Epstein decades ago.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who handled the Epstein file, was fired on April 2nd. Analysts say Bondi’s handling of the Epstein file has become a serious political issue for the Trump administration.
25th Amendment
Much of the online campaign focused on portraying the 79-year-old US president as mentally unfit and unstable.
The Iranian embassy in South Africa called on U.S. authorities to “seriously consider Section 4 of the 25th Amendment,” referring to the U.S. Constitution’s provision for removing a sitting president deemed unfit to hold office.
The embassy later shared a post from British broadcaster Piers Morgan, who called Trump’s tweet “embarrassing” and suggested the president had “lost his marbles.” The South African mission added: “Humanity must know what kind of creatures are guiding the American people.”
This focus on President Trump’s state of awareness was echoed by the Iranian embassy in Tajikistan, which shared Morgan’s same post, adding dryly, “I know you got it a little late, but congratulations nevertheless. Thank you everyone for listening.”
The Iranian embassy in London took a literary approach. It included a Persian poem written by Rumi about the dangers of putting a sword in the hands of a madman, accompanied by Mark Twain’s famous quote: “It’s better to keep your mouth shut and make people think you’re a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
Warning about “18+”
Several diplomatic missions targeted Trump’s profanity and references to religion.
The Iranian embassy in India did not hold back. “Calling people and insulting them is the way of a competitive kid. Stay strong, grandpa!” he wrote.
The Iranian embassy in Austria placed a giant “18+” graphic above a screenshot of President Trump’s post. “The president stooped to an unprecedented level of begging, conflating bitter and empty disrespect with intimidation,” the Vienna mission wrote. It also solemnly reminded Washington that attacks on civilian infrastructure constitute a “war crime,” after announcing, “Further warning: We will protect all minors under the age of 18 from exposure to Trump’s rhetoric.”
political cartoons
The digital attack concluded with an international political cartoon shared by Iranian missions in Europe, including Russia.
The embassy in Berlin posted a cartoon from the German magazine Der Spiegel depicting President Trump staring into a mirror and imagining himself as the Emperor.
The Iranian embassy in Moscow released a Russian illustration of President Trump as a paranoid Don Quixote charging toward a windmill on horseback while his sidekick yells, “Boss, it’s just a windmill!”
Don Quixote is the main character of a 17th century Spanish novel who was ridiculed for his delusions of grandeur.
The online ridicule comes as the Middle East faces a crisis ahead of President Trump’s deadline to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz by early Wednesday local time.
Meanwhile, the Iranian mission downplays the escalating tensions in every social media post.
