Published 23:18 IST, January 7th 2020
Republican Congressman shares fake Obama photo replacing Manmohan Singh with Iran Prez
Republican Congressman Dr. Paul Gosar, on Tuesday, shared a fake image showing former president Barack Obama shaking hands with Iranian President Hassan Rohani
Emulating President Trump's action of sharing photoshopped images, Republican Congressman Dr. Paul Gosar, on Tuesday, shared an image showing former president Barack Obama shaking hands with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Taking a jibe at the now-defunct 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, he commented that the 'world was better without them in power'. Several American news agencies have debunked that the photo was a fake as Obama had never met Rouhani. Moreover, the photo shared by the Congressman was from a meeting of Obama with then-Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Congressman shares photoshopped Obama-Rouhani image
Trump & Rouhani exchange threats
This tweet comes amid the rising tensions between President Trump and Rouhani after US killed Iran's Revolutionary Guard commander-General Qassem Soleimani and Trump's looming impeachment trial in the Republican-controlled Senate. Both presidents have refused to scale down from the threats with Trump stating that 52 Iranian sites which were important to Iran and its culture will be targetted after Iran declared vengeance over the killing. On Monday, Trump tweeted a warning to Iran - ' IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!', which was met with Rouhani reminding him of Iran's uranium resources.
Iran pulls out of nuclear deal
Earlier on Monday, Iran officially announced on January 5 its exit from the 2015 Nuclear Accord. Tehran has stated in its fifth step back from the deal it would forego the "limit on the number of centrifuges" it had pledged. Iran's nuclear deal with Britain, China, France, Russia, Germany and the United States has been in trouble since the US withdrew unilaterally from it two years ago. Moreover, Iran stated on Monday that they had successfully enriched uranium to about 4.5%, and threatened to hit the 20% mark.
US drone strike kills Iran's General Qassem Soleimani
On January 3, the White House and the Pentagon confirmed the death of Iran's powerful military head by saying that the attack was directed by US President Donald Trump on January 3. Six others were killed along with Major General Soleimani including Iraqi militia head - Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Since then the Green Zone outside US Embassy in Baghdad, several Iraqi airbases and some cities were US Army presence was prevalent have been targetted by Iran-backed militia - Hezbollah. Several nations like China, Saudi Arabia, Germany, India, France have called for a de-escalation of the situation.
Updated 23:20 IST, January 7th 2020