Netanyahu to Zarif: Delete Your Twitter Account

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a message referencing the Iranian government's restriction on Twitter access for its citizens, urged Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic, to delete his Twitter account. Netanyahu made this request on Monday, October 16, by posting a video message on his Twitter account. This request came after Zarif expressed support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on his Twitter page. On Saturday, Zarif tweeted in English: 'Today, all Iranians, from boys, girls, women, and men, are all IRGC.' He added that all people of Iran stand 'firmly with those who defend us and the region against aggression and terrorism.' Netanyahu deemed Zarif's statement as 'too much' and expressed his desire to know the opinion of the Iranian people on this matter. He sarcastically noted that while the Iranian regime filters Twitter in the country, Zarif shares such content on the platform. Netanyahu further stated, 'I am sure that ordinary people in Iran do not take pride in the IRGC killing innocent men and women around the world.' He referenced the bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Argentina, which left 85 dead and over 300 injured, claiming that Israeli officials hold the Iranian government responsible for this attack, a charge that Iran denies. The Israeli Prime Minister continued in his video that he is confident a day will come when people in Iran will be free and can 'tweet freely.' He concluded with a 'simple message' for the Iranian Foreign Minister: 'Delete your Twitter account.' Netanyahu has recently been using social media and platforms to send direct messages to Iranian leaders; last month, he addressed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, stating that 'the light of Israel will not be extinguished.' This is not the first time Netanyahu has addressed Zarif through social media. In March, he asked Zarif, 'What patience are you talking about? Who are you mocking?' Shortly before that, Zarif had written that Netanyahu distorts both history and the Torah. Zarif referred to Netanyahu's remarks during the Purim celebration, where Netanyahu told Jewish children, 'We celebrate Purim to be grateful that Iran historically could not exterminate the Jews as today’s Iran wants to destroy Israel.' Zarif replied that the tolerance and patience of Iranians throughout history have always included Jews, and Iranians have saved Jews three times. Iran and Israel have considered each other as their main enemies since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran, but the crisis conditions that intensified during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency have seemingly eased somewhat in the last two years. Following the announcement of a new U.S. strategy regarding Iran last Friday, which according to the Israeli Minister of Intelligence, Israel was also involved in formulating, the Israeli Prime Minister has intensified attacks on the nuclear and regional policies of the Islamic Republic. Netanyahu's message comes after U.S. President Donald Trump severely criticized the IRGC for what he termed support for 'terrorist activities.' After Trump announced his authorization for the IRGC to be placed on the U.S. sanctions list as part of his new strategy towards Iran, the U.S. Treasury Secretary announced plans for new sanctions against the IRGC. Iranian officials, including Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Javad Zarif, and on Tuesday, former President Mohammad Khatami, have recently strongly supported the IRGC despite evident differences in recent years.