Khamenei tweets pic of Obama pointing a gun to his head
If Obama was expecting an invitation to visit Iran, it probably won't be forthcoming for a while.
One of the selling points used by the administration for the Iran nuclear agreement, is that it will make Iran a more responsible international citizen. Judging by a recent tweet by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, they might want to alter their sales strategy.
Iran's supreme leader tweeted a graphic Saturday that appears to depict President Obama holding a gun to his head as Britain relaxed its travel advice to the nation, citing decreased hostility under the Iranian government.
"US president has said he could knock out Iran’s military. We welcome no war, nor do we initiate any war, but.." reads the caption above the tweet sent by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on @khamenei_ir, his English language account. Khamenei's account has not been verified by Twitter but is widely believed to be the supreme leader's based on its content, which often rails against the United States and Israel.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also has an unverified Twitter account, @HassanRouhani.
The latest tweet on Khamenei's account mirrors a similar one sent July 17 that didn't contain an image, but said: "US pres. said he could knock out Iran’s army. Of course we neither welcome, nor begin war, but in case of war, US will leave it disgraced."
That tweet came just three days after the United States and other world powers reached a historic agreement with Iran that called for limits on Tehran's nuclear program in return for lifting economic sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.
US president has said he could knock out Iran’s military. We welcome no war, nor do we initiate any war, but.. pic.twitter.com/D4Co7fVuVg
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) July 25, 2015
So it doesn't look like Obama and Khamenei will be besties after all. Nor does it look like Iran wants to be a "good international citizen." But an indication of just how myopic western powers have become following the agreement, Great Britain's lifting its travel warning to Iran because of "decreased hostility" is ironic indeed.
All Khamenei is doing is playing into the hands of treaty opponents in Congress who just got more ammunition to kill the deal.