US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) urged Iranian leaders to "make Iran great again", a reference to the slogan associated with his campaign.
"The noble people of Iran--who love America--deserve a government that's more interested in helping them achieve their dreams than killing them for demanding respect. Instead of leading Iran toward ruin, its leaders should abandon terror and Make Iran Great Again!" the US President said in a tweet.
Trump's reply came to a tweet by handle -- Khamenei.ir. The tweet by the handle read: "The villainous US govt repeatedly says that they are standing by the Iranian ppl. They lie. If you are standing by the Iranian ppl, it is only to stab them in the heart with your venomous daggers. Of course, you have so far failed to do so, & you will certainly continue to fail."
Sputnik reported that to enhance the effect of his own statement Trump made another tweet, moments later, this time in Farsi, vowing to "Make Iran Great Again!"
In its report, the agency stated that the Supreme Leader of Iran also took to the social media on Friday, denouncing "the villainous US govt" for hypocrisy - a statement that was quoted by Trump in his tweeted tirade.
In his Friday's speech, the Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei described the Trump administration as "clowns" and slammed Israel.
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In an earlier tweet, the US President had warned the Iranian Supreme Leader to be very careful with his words.
"The so-called "Supreme Leader" of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe. Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words!" Trump had said.
The recent exchange comes days after Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq two weeks ago. Iran retaliated with strikes on US targets.