Even as attempts are being made to resolve the Iran-US conflict diplomatically after six weeks of war in the Middle East, Iran continues to fire salvos via social media memes at the United States from its official embassy pages. The latest in this is Hyderabad Iran Consulate’s X post on US’ blocking of Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald on Monday announced closure of the strategic Hormuz passage after Tehran-Washington negotiations failed to seal a peace deal at Pakistan-mediated Islamabad peace talks over the weekend. The move prevents vessels from entering or leaving Iranian ports. Interestingly, the strait has already been closed virtually since the war began in the Middle East last month.
Iran’s Hyderabad consulate pegged its fresh tirade on this blockade-on-blockade situation and wrote, “The Strait of Hormuz isn’t social media. If someone blocks you, you can’t just block them back.”
Between the failure of talks and chatter about fresh round of negotiations soon, Trump sought to squeeze Iran with a naval blockade and the US Central Command said the move included “vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman”.
Iran’ termed the blockade as an act of piracy, and warned that if the security of its harbours “is threatened, no port in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea will be safe”. Analysts say that US is not only trying to starve Iran of funds with this blockade but pressuring Beijing, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, to lean on Tehran to reopen Hormuz.
As Trump threatened to sink any boats that sought to leave or dock there, China dubbed the blockade around Iranian ports as “dangerous and irresponsible”.
Iran on top of meme game
A highlight of the ongoing flare-up between Iran and the US has been Iran’s meme attack.
On Monday, the Iranian consulate in Mumbai re-shared a clip that mocked US’ Hormuz move. The video shared was a popular scene from the 2007 Bollywood film ‘Dhamaal’, and made fun of US President Donald Trump imposing a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that was already facing disruptions ever since the war began in February. Follow Iran-US war news updates.
The clip showed actor Ritiesh Deshmukh’s character trying to escape some men chasing him. The hilarious scene shows him trying to hide behind a door that could easily be accessed from the sides.
The video portrayed the actor’s character as the US and those of the men after him as Iran. “Indian memes are GOAT,” the Iranian consulate in Mumbai wrote on X, sharing the clip.
GOAT is a popular slang expanded to Greatest of All Time.
Since the beginning of the war in the Middle East set off by coordinated US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28, Iran’s diplomatic missions have weaponised dark humour, viral memes, and pop-culture references.
