Iran has unveiled a new banner in central Tehran, which has portraits of US President Donald Trump along with all of his family above coffins that are draped in the Stars and Stripes.
The banner, which has a burning White House as a backdrop, features Trump’s five children: Ivanka, Don Jr, Eric, Tiffany, and Barron Trump; and the First Lady, Melania Trump, along with the US president.
The banner bears the slogan “Blood for Blood” in Persian and is the second time Iran has threatened the US President on a billboard.
Iran had put up another billboard in Enghelab Square in central Tehran, showing the US president lying in a coffin.
Iran has long used public spaces as a tool of political communication. But since the beginning of the war against the US-Israeli forces in late February, giant billboards, reflecting revolutionary imagery, war memorials, and ideological messages, have been placed in some of the busiest and most visible parts of Tehran as part of the Islamic republic’s broader visual communication strategy.
The hoarding showed Trump’s body peeking out from an open black coffin. In the picture, his hair is dishevelled, and his eyes and mouth are closed, as his hands rest on a red tie atop a protruding stomach. At the far end of the coffin, his feet point straight up.
Tehran’s large murals in Valiasr Square are designed by the Owj Arts and Media Organisation, which is associated with a body tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Mojtaba Khamenei’s Warning
Last week, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei announced that the revenge for his father’s assassination “will most certainly be carried out” and that the perpetrators will not die “peacefully in their beds”.
Recently, Iranian leaders and state media have repeatedly called for retaliation following the supreme leader’s assassination.
“This revenge is the demand of our nation, and it will most certainly be carried out. These criminals – whose names are known from top to bottom – will take to their graves the unfulfilled wish of dying peacefully in their beds. They should know that this does not depend on my personal presence or that of any other official,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
Trump’s Instructions If Iran Assassinates Him
Meanwhile, the US president said last week that he has directed officials to “bomb” Iran on a massive scale if the Islamic Republic succeeds in killing him.
Speaking to the New York Post, Trump said that he has been on Iran’s “list” for a long time.
“I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with… The only thing is, I’ve left instructions, if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before,” he said.
Since Trump directed the attack that killed Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani, he has been a target for the Islamic Republic.
After the NATO Summit in Ankara, Trump swapped his plans while travelling back to the United States. The White House later acknowledged it to be a security tactic for the president’s safety.
Middle East On Boil Again?
The United States is sending dozens of refuelling planes to Israel in the coming days as the country prepares to launch a wider military campaign against Iran, according to a report by Axios.
The report cites senior American and Israeli officials, who say that US President Donald Trump could order the attacks in the coming days.
