Trump, Iranian Parliament Speaker Qalibaf Exchange Barbs Over Hunger Claims
US President Donald Trump and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf have engaged in a war of words after Trump shared a statement attributed to the Iranian speaker, claiming that Iran was facing food shortages and could no longer survive.
Trump posted on social media that “Iran is completely destroyed” and shared the alleged remarks attributed to Ghalibaf, in which he was quoted as saying that Iran was suffering from food shortages and would not be able to continue fighting regardless of its military strength if its people remained hungry.
In response, Ghalibaf mocked Trump by modifying his election slogan “Make America Great Again” to “Make America Hungry Again.”
The Iranian parliament speaker also claimed that 47 million Americans were facing food insecurity, saying the figure was based on facts rather than claims he described as fabricated. He added that, according to the figures, one in every eight Americans suffers from food insecurity.
Iran’s parliament accused Trump of distorting Ghalibaf’s remarks and attempting to conceal what it described as a military defeat.
In a statement issued by its media center, the Iranian parliament said Ghalibaf had discussed economic cooperation between Iran and Iraq during a visit to Iraq, along with efforts to counter US sanctions and win the economic war.
According to the parliament, Ghalibaf had said Iran defeated the United States in the military conflict, while Washington had now turned to psychological and economic warfare.
The Iranian parliament said Trump had taken Ghalibaf’s comments out of context and attempted to portray them as an admission of Iran’s military defeat.
It added that the full video of Ghalibaf’s meeting was publicly available and said there was a clear difference between the original text of his speech and what it described as misleading headlines circulating in the media.
