Iran has responded to US President Donald Trump’s threat to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic with a high-octane action scene from Telugu superstar Nandamuri Balakrishna’s 2023 film Bhagavanth Kesari.
The post came after Trump used strong language against Tehran during his September 22 UNGA speech. Iran condemned Trump’s remarks. Hours after the threat, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff held a three-hour long discussion through mediators in New York. Qatar helped facilitate the contacts.
Trump said he faced a “big decision” over whether to reach an agreement that would allow Iran to rebuild or to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” if no deal was reached. “I have a big decision to make — will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country?” the 80-year-old said in his speech, during which all but one member of the Iranian delegation walked out. Iran’s military authorities said the US president’s statements were “merely a tool for domestic propaganda”. “The hostile statements & repeated threats by the US president against Iran, accompanied by the use of the UN platform to justify aggression, create insecurity and engage in piracy around the world, are, before being based on realities on the ground, merely a tool for domestic propaganda,” the statement said.
