The US-Israeli war on Iran, into its 47th day, is also being fought on unlikely turf – social media. Hours after US President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image showing himself in the form of Jesus Christ, Iran responded with its own take.
The Iranian Embassy in South Africa shared the same image on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “Is it Epstein being cared for in the Healing Ministry of Trump?”
The controversy began after Trump uploaded the image in which he was dressed in a white robe and had a glowing hand on the forehead of a man lying in a hospital bed. The depiction drew immediate comparisons to Jesus Christ healing the sick.
In the background were visual elements such as the Statue of Liberty, a large US flag fluttering, fighter jets and an eagle. It also featured a nurse, a woman praying and what appeared to be a soldier in uniform.
The post sparked backlash from across the US political spectrum, including from some of Trump's own supporters. It was later deleted.
Among those who reacted was Sean Feucht, a Christian activist, who wrote, “This should be deleted immediately. There's no context where this is acceptable.” Conservative activist Riley Gaines also criticised the post, stating, “God shall not be mocked.”
Trump had shared the image just hours after he had posted a separate message where he criticised Pope Leo XIV, who has been vocal in his criticism of the US's and Israel's unilateral war on Iran.
He later acknowledged sharing the image but rejected the interpretation that it portrayed him in a religious light. Speaking to reporters, he described it as an image of himself as a doctor.
“It's supposed to be like a doctor making people better. And I do make people better. I make people a lot better,” he said as quoted by the BBC. He also said the image included what he believed to be a Red Cross worker.
Explaining the decision to delete the post, Trump told CBS News that he removed it because he “didn't want to have anybody be confused. People were confused.”
The Iranian Embassy's post referring to Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, drew attention to Trump's past association with the disgraced financier. They were known to have moved in the same social circles for some time before they fell out in the early 2000s, according to Trump, ahead of Epstein's first arrest.
