Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. -AFP
Iranians responded with anger and mockery on Saturday to the bellicose criticism of their government by US President Donald Trump who threatened to tear up the landmark nuclear deal. Trump's use of the phrase Arabian Gulf rather than Persian Gulf particularly hit a nerve in a country with a fierce nationalistic streak, reports AFP.
Everyone knew Trump's friendship was for sale to the highest bidder. We now know that his geography is too, wrote Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Twitter, referring to the US alliance with Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia.
Despite pressure from the Arab Gulf monarchies, most international bodies still use Persian Gulf as the conventional name for the region's waterway, and many Iranians shared photos of US veterans' medals and graves referring to the Persian Gulf conflict of the 1990s.
In his White House speech on Friday, Trump reeled off a list of grievances committed by the Iranian dictatorship, its sponsorship of terrorism, and its continuing aggression in the Middle East and all around the world.
He threatened to terminate the 2015 nuclear deal signed between Iran and six world powers unless Congress passed stringent new sanctions.
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