In a new post Sunday evening, the U.S. president shared a version of a map of Iran shaped like himself, and that was not even the most embarrassing part. The image is in fact completely reversed, with Israel to the east and Iran to the west. The Red Sea appears north of the Mediterranean, while Iran is shown south of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The post, in which Trump’s United States appears to control Iran, came after a weekend of exchanges of fire in the Gulf, and almost simultaneously with reports of additional explosions in the region and an Iranian declaration of a “restricted zone” near the Strait of Hormuz. According to a report by Sabereen, which is affiliated with pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, Iranian missiles were fired Sunday evening at ships “violating the rules” in Hormuz.
“The Strait of Hormuz is completely closed. Trump’s claim that the strait is open is a big lie,” said Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. “In the coming days, a restricted zone will be declared outside Hormuz, a corridor whose entry and exit will be managed by Iran. The area will begin from the line of the U.S. naval blockade and will include areas in the Persian Gulf. Any ship entering this new zone will be placed on the sanctions list.”
Rezaei added, after the United States destroyed three Iranian tankers in response to fire directed at an aircraft carrier, that “Iran has not made a decision to sink American ships that secretly cross the Strait of Hormuz because they are carrying oil, which could cause environmental damage. Iran will commit to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open when the United States does not threaten or attack Iran.” He claimed that over the weekend Iran carried out its first test firing of an anti-destroyer missile against a U.S. warship.
US attacks Iranian tankers
(Video: CENTCOM)
Trump’s post was only one in a barrage of posts by the U.S. president that included a series of AI-generated images covering a range of subjects, including the confrontation with Iran. In one image, among more than 10 posts published within an hour and a half, a fighter jet is seen flying over Iran’s “oil island,” Kharg, which appears to be under bombardment, while another shows a graph depicting the collapse of the Iranian currency.
In other images, Trump is depicted as legendary wrestler Hulk Hogan; a sinking ship is labeled “the Democratic Party”; former President Joe Biden is shown wearing a Trump-branded hat; and the moon appears alongside the U.S. flag and the caption “Our moon.”
AI-generated posts by Trump on a range of subjects:
Meanwhile, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said it was possible that no nuclear agreement would be signed with Tehran. “It may be that an agreement waits for the next administration in Iran. We simply don’t know,” he said.
The remarks signaled a significant decline in Washington’s expectations of reaching a diplomatic agreement soon. Against the backdrop of renewed military exchanges between the countries, Wright said in an interview with ABC that the United States could move toward directly destroying infrastructure and, referring to Iran’s ambitions to obtain nuclear weapons, said: “It may simply be to destroy their ability to do that.”
Meanwhile, at a Rosh Hashanah toast during Sunday's Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We are determined to defend ourselves, we are determined to strike our enemies. They are not attacking us. Iran is refraining from doing so, and it knows why. Of course, it could miscalculate and make the mistake of attacking us. It would absorb a blow it cannot even imagine.”
“I say to our enemies: Don’t mess with us,” Netanyahu added. “This people knows how to unite in moments of trial, and right now it is the strongest power in the Middle East, and some say beyond it. The achievements are enormous, but there is still more to complete. I mean first and foremost bringing down the regime. That regime in Iran — its end is near. It is weak, it is fighting for its life, it is staggering.”