Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has posted an image online appearing to call for an attack on former US President Donald Trump, in revenge for the killing of General Qasem Soleimani last year. The photomontage on his official website shows Trump playing golf under the shadow of a warplane or large drone, with the caption 'vengeance is definite'.
The image was first shared by a small Twitter account, which was suspended by Twitter for violating platform manipulation and spam policy. However, the post was also retweeted by Khamenei's much larger Farsi-language account, which has since deleted it. The tweet stated: 'Soleimani's murderer and he who ordered it will have to pay', with the word 'vengeance' highlighted in red.
On Khamenei's official website, the image is accompanied by a quote from 16 December vowing revenge 'at any time'. The threat comes a year after Soleimani was assassinated by a US drone in Baghdad. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at an Iraqi airbase housing US troops, with Khamenei warning that 'severe revenge awaits the criminals'.
Twitter faced criticism from users who noted the inconsistency of banning Trump for inciting violence but allowing Khamenei to post apparent assassination threats. One user wrote: 'How come this atrocious psychopath can openly call for the assassination of a former US president, and not be kicked out of Twitter?' Another asked: 'Trump's banned but this is perfectly ok. Is this a joke?'
Earlier this month, Twitter also banned a tweet from Khamenei that described UK and US coronavirus vaccines as 'untrustworthy'. The platform has not commented on the latest post.
