Iran has furiously hit back at Donald Trump following his State of the Union address, saying that the U.S. president supports “dictators, butchers, and extremists” in the Middle East. Trump took aim at Iran during Tuesday night’s speech, calling the country “the world’s leading state sponsor of terror” and accusing its leaders of doing “bad, bad things.” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded in an angry Twitter post Wednesday apparently highlighting Trump’s support of the Saudi regime. “U.S. hostility has led it to support dictators, butchers & extremists who’ve only brought ruin to our region,” he wrote. Trump also accused Iran of persecuting Jews in the country, saying in his address: “We will not avert our eyes from a regime that chants ‘Death to America’ and threatens genocide against the Jewish people.” But Zarif disputed his statement, saying: “Iranians—including our Jewish compatriots—are commemorating 40 yrs of progress despite U.S. pressure, just as @realDonaldTrump again makes accusations against us @ #SOTU2019.”
