Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday asked Donald Trump to withdraw his “disrespectful and unacceptable” remarks on its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and asked the US president if he is “genuine about wanting a deal.“Also Read | ‘Ugly and ignominious death’: Trump’s 4-word description of what he saved Iran’s Khamenei from“If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran’s Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, and stop hurting his millions of heartfelt followers,” Araghchi posted on X.

Araghchi tweet

The “deal” he mentioned relates to the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme, which was at the centre of the recent conflict between US ally Israel and Iran – their common rival. The hostilities began with Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear and military sites on June 13, ahead of fresh US-Iran talks over the latter’s nuclear programme.Also Read | ‘We would have taken him out’: Israeli defence minister confirms Khamenei’s elimination was on cardsMocking Israel, Araghchi said the Jewish State had “no choice but to run to daddy,’ a reference to Trump, who brokered a peace truce between the Asian rivals a day after the United States bombed three key Iranian nuclear sites.“The Great and Powerful Iranian People, who showed the world that the Israeli regime had NO CHOICE but to RUN to ‘Daddy’ to avoid being flattened by our Missiles, do not take kindly to Threats and Insults. If Illusions lead to worse mistakes, Iran will not hesitate to unveil its Real Capabilities, which will certainly END any Delusion about the Power of Iran,” he wrote on social media.The 12-day war ended on June 23, a day after America’s Operation Midnight Hammer, which Iran retaliated to by launching missiles on a US air base in Qatar.