Iran Responds to Trump Over 'Absurd Insults'

Iran's foreign minister on Tuesday lashed out at Donald Trump over the US president's message to the country on the occasion of its Nowruz Persian New Year celebrations.

"With millennia of civilization, Iranians have the historical depth to ignore the absurd insults of an arriviste leader; one whose entire command of history, politics and diplomacy can be condensed into 280 characters - but even so, still superior to his juvenile royal stooge," Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter, referring to Trump's own tweets.

In his message released by the White House, Trump said: "The Iranian people face another challenge: rulers who serve themselves instead of serving their people."

The US president also denounced Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard. "Twenty-five centuries ago, Darius the Great asked God to protect Iran from three dangers: hostile armies, drought, and falsehood. Today, the Iranian regime's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) represents all three."

Since taking office in January 2017, Trump has adopted a tough stance against Iran and repeatedly denounced a landmark deal that Tehran reached with world powers to curb its nuclear program.

Trump said in January that the 2015 deal between Iran and major powers must be "fixed" by May 12 or the United States will walk away.

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