Accra/Rome: A tongue-in-cheek reaction by Iran to the fallout between US president Donald Trump and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni over Pope Leo XIV has taken social media by storm.
Trump made rash comments after the pontiff spoke against the war in the Middle East and US attacks on Iran, going as far as to say that Leo was elected Pope as he is the president of the US.
Meloni defended the Pope and Trump – already unhappy with her for refusing to participate in the war – called her ‘unacceptable’.
The Iranian Embassy in Ghana immediately reacted to this, posting a curriculum vitae (CV) on X, addressed to Italy, seeking to be appointed a friend in Trump’s place, as reported by News18.
“Dear Italy, Your PM just defended Pope and lost an ally in Washington – the Commander in Grief, yet the most ‘powerfo
ol’ man on earth. We’d like to apply for the vacancy. Our qualifications: 7,000 years of civilization, a shared love of poetry, architecture, and food that takes longer to prepare than Trump’s attention span.”
The Iranian embassy even poked fun at the ultimate culinary rivalry: “The only thing Iran and Italy have ever fought over is who invented ice cream. Faloodeh came first. Gelato came louder. We’ve been in a ‘cold’ war over this for 2,000 years.”
The comment section on X (formerly Twitter) exploded with a mix of amusement, culinary gatekeeping, and history lessons. One user wrote, “Do you cut pasta into smaller pieces in Iran? If you do, you are considered persona non grata in Italy.”
“Islam started just 1400 years ago bro… where did you bring the additional 5600 years from,” another one commented. (To which others quickly reminded of the Persian Empire’s deep pre-Islamic roots).
“If diplomacy ran on poetry and desserts, this alliance would already be signed,” wrote another user while one more person praised Iran’s viral diplomacy tactics. “These Iranian embassy handles are something else! Their wit and humour have generated tremendous goodwill, revealing a side of Iran many hadn’t seen before.”