As soon as the Trump administration announced imposing sanctions on Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammed Javad Zarif, a hashtag critical of Zarif appeared on U.S. Sate Department Twitter.
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Zarif has been for years the main and mostly the only channel between Iran and the west, yet, he is now facing US sanctions that would strike at diplomacy between both countries.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, announced on Twitter targeting Zarif with sanctions attributing the decision to the fact that Zarif has been acting on behalf of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Recently, President @realDonaldTrump sanctioned Iran’s Supreme Leader, who enriched himself at the expense of the Iranian people. Today, the U.S. designated his chief apologist @JZarif. He’s just as complicit in the regime’s outlaw behavior as the rest of @khamenei_ir’s mafia. pic.twitter.com/XhDdqR6rik
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) July 31, 2019
Describing him as part of the “Khamenei's mafia” as he is explicit in the “regime’s outlaw behavior”, Pompeo has used the hashtag #ماله_کش_اعظم [#ChiefPlasterista] that is believed to be triggered by the US State Department’s official Persian-language account.
پرزیدنت #ترامپ اخیرا رهبر ایران را که با پول مردم ایران خودش را ثروتمند کرده تحریم کرد. امروز، ایالات متحده جواد #ظریف، #ماله_کش_اعظم وی را نیز تحریم کرد. او مانند سایر اعضای #مافیای خامنه ای در رفتار #یاغیانه رژیم همدست است. pic.twitter.com/vIsdyoaq3A
— USA darFarsi (@USAdarFarsi) July 31, 2019
The hashtag has circulated the internet among Iranians as part of a debate over Zarif and the US sanctions imposed on him.
The hashtag is aimed at describing Iran’s Foreign Minister as the one whose career revolved around “plastering” the Iranian regime.
Today, Iranian users in Twitter started to employ the hashtag (#ماله_کش_اعظم =chief apologist) that has been launched by the State Department (@USAdarFarsi) for sanctioning Javad Zarif.
— Iranian American (@IranLionness) August 1, 2019
The initial Farsi word for the hashtag means trowel, to cover up stories with stupid lies. pic.twitter.com/m6H2uz0WBP
While the hashtag was widely used among regime critics, the fact that it was first launched by the US State Department’s Persian account has got people questioning the aim behind it that serves the US agenda against Iran and its government.
Iranians are trending a hashtag originated by @USAdarFarsi which has no direct translation in English, but closest is #ChiefPlasterista meaning Zarif career has always revolved around plastering Ayatollah & regime ugly facade. This explains??#ماله_کش_اعظم hashtag in Persian pic.twitter.com/az0Q7FNGMX
— BaHaRaN (@ForSyteSaga2013) August 1, 2019
