Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday tweeted a graphic appearing to show the shadow of a bomber aircraft flying over former U.S. president Donald Trump as he played golf. The image was previously tweeted by Iranian media outlet Tasnim News Agency.
"Revenge is inevitable," read Khamenei's tweet, roughly translated. "Revenge must be taken on those who ordered the murder of General Soleimani as well as those who carried it."
The tweet represents a renewal of Khamenei's threats to avenge influential Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was widely perceived as the second most powerful man in Iran.
In January 2020, Trump ordered a drone strike on Soleimani's convoy near Iraq's Baghdad airport, killing the top official and nine other people.
🔻انتقام حتمی است
— KHAMENEI.IR | سایت (@khamenei_site) January 21, 2021
قاتل سلیمانی و آمر به قتل سلیمانی باید انتقامشان را پس بدهند.
اگر چه کفش پای سلیمانی هم بر سرِ قاتل او شرف دارد؛ اما بالاخره غلطی کردند، بایستی #انتقام پس بدهند؛ #هم_آمر_هم_قاتل بدانند که در هر زمان ممکن باید انتقامشان را پس بدهند.
۱۳۹۹/۰۹/۲۶ pic.twitter.com/i2DYpPSBhw
Trump skipped his successor Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday, instead opting to fly back to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. The property boasts a golf course, which the former president has frequented while in office.
On January 8, Twitter permanently suspended Trump's account, citing the risk of "further incitement of violence" after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 as lawmakers were in the process of certifying Joe Biden's Electoral College win.
While Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey backed his platform's move, he believed Trump's ban set a "dangerous" precedent and represented the company's "failure" to "promote healthy conversation."
Conservatives were quick to cry foul on Trump's suspension, complaining of a double standard with regards to accounts of world leaders like Khamenei, who—while not granted a verification badge—has posted tweets viewed as thinly-veiled threats.
Following his father's ban, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted: "So the ayatollah, and numerous other dictatorial regimes can have Twitter accounts with no issue despite threatening genocide to entire countries and killing homosexuals etc... but The President of the United States should be permanently suspended."
Newsweek has contacted Twitter for comment.
Earlier this month, Twitter took down a post by Khamenei's English-language account, in which the Supreme Leader claimed vaccines imported from the U.S. and the U.K. were "completely untrustworthy."
However, a tweet casting doubt on American and British vaccines remains on Khamenei's Farsi-language profile.
Trump's single term in office was marked by heightened tensions with Tehran. In addition to orchestrating the killing of Soleimani, the Trump administration withdrew from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and slapped sanctions on the country, dealing a blow to its economy.
Biden's pick for Secretary of State Antony Blinken has signalled a possible return to the nuclear deal, contingent on Tehran's demonstrated commitment to complying with the agreement.
