How Iran just turned Trump's social media playbook against him

US President Donald Trump reposted a letter calling India and China hellholes. India maintained restraint while China looked the other way. Which country defended India and China from Trump's repost faux pas — louder than India or China themselves?

Iran. That's right. Iranian consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad fired back in the sharpest way possible — on social media with the level of sarcasm that would make Twitter blush. 

Iran said, "Kabhi India aake dekho, phir bolna." Iran's consulate posted a video of Maharashtra tourism and said that Trump needs a "one-way cultural detox."

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Oh, and they flipped the "hellhole" label right back at Trump. Responding to Trump's tirade, the Iranian consulate in Hyderabad wrote, "China and India are the cradles of civilisation. In fact, the hellhole is where its war-criminal president threatened to decimate the civilisation in Iran."

In another post, Iran wrote, "Every day, with a new post, Trump's inhumanity proves to be beyond infinity. This is the racism itself."

ICYMI | When Iran threw back the 'hellhole' jibe right back at Trump

That was not it. Iran also took the food pun and meme route to roast the US President. Reposting the video shared by Iran's Mumbai consulate, its Hyderabad counterpart listed the 3 things that they absolutely loved in India's maximum city.

It said in a post, "Things I loved in Mumbai? Chai with bun maska, vada pav, and pav bhaji that could fix a bad day in 3 bites. I believe in 'Roti and Respect', but stepping into South India... Bhai, that's a whole different league; like India unlocked its 'heaven mode', trust me, it's MORE beautiful."

Later, the Iranian consulate in Mumbai took some inspiration from Tollywood and shared a Rajinikanth meme. 

Resharing the post, the Iranian consulate in Hyderabad wrote, "Hyderabad doesn't do 'either/or'... hum toh 'aur ek plate aur extra mirchi' bolte hain. City of Pearls ka asli pearl = Biryani (mutton)."

What did Trump repost on his Truth Social? 

On Thursday, the President courted controversy after he reposted a letter on the US Supreme Court's arguments on birthright citizenship. The letter referred to India and China as "some other hellhole on the planet." 

It said, "A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring the entire family in from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet. You don't have to go too far to see that. English is not spoken here anymore. That there's almost no loyalty to this country amongst the immigrant class coming in today, which was not always the case." 

The letter said that unlike Indians and Chinese, the Irish, Italians, Poles, Lithuanians, Romanians and Russians integrated and became Americans. "The idea of the melting pot is long over. It is now just a cash in pot." 

Furthermore, the letter said, "I used to be a great supporter of Indians until I opened my eyes up to what's going on here. White men need not apply to jobs in the state of California. Nevermind in high tech. I don't care what your qualifications are. You're not getting a job at High Tech in California."

India's measured response

Responding to the social media repost by Trump, the Ministry of External Affairs called it "uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste." 

"We have seen the comments, as also the subsequent statement issued by the US Embassy in response. The remarks are obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste. They certainly do not reflect the reality of the India-US relationship, which has long been based on mutual respect and shared interests," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.