Iranian commander blasts Trump's anti-Iran sanctions meme with one of his own

Iran’s Major General Qassem Soleimani has fired back at US President Donald Trump’s use of a meme imitated from popular American drama series "Game of Thrones" with one of his own, vowing to “stand against” American sanctions.

According to Press TV, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) posted on Friday an Instagram photo inspired by the book series-turned-HBO hit show, which reads, “I will stand against you” in the show’s signature font, as used in Trump’s tweet earlier in the day threatening Tehran with more sanctions.

The post came shortly after the Trump administration announced plans to reinstate the last set of sanctions lifted on Iran under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal early next week. Trump announced in May that he was withdrawing the US from the international agreement.

The US-based cable network HBO also slammed Trump for his use of the show’s slogan – ‘Winter is coming’ – to promote his administration’s foreign policy agenda, saying it would prefer the American president not “misappropriate” their trademark.

"We were not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not be misappropriated for political purposes," said an HBO spokeswoman.

The network further took to Twitter – Trump’s favorite communication channel -- and asked how to say “trademark misuse” in Dothraki, one of the show’s fictional languages.

On Saturday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei responded to persisting US political and economic hostilities against Iran for the past 40 years, insisting that the United States has always been defeated in its face-off with the Islamic Republic.

Speaking in a public address a day after the Trump administration decided to re-impose all US sanctions against Iran lifted under the 2015 agreement, the Leader said, "For 40 years, the challenge between America and Iran has continued and a variety of movements have taken place from the enemy's side - from the military and economic warfare to the media war launched by America.

"The goal of the United States in all this was to regain the domination it had in the era of the tyranny, but it could not," the Leader added, referring to the period prior to the Islamic Revolution when the Shah of Iran was the top US ally in the region.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has accused Washington of seeking to wage an extensive “psychological war” against Tehran by imposing a new round of sanctions, insisting that such US measures are not worthy of much concern.

ME