Trump’s divine drama gets a smackdown as Iran adds Jesus, lava and Epstein shade

Iranian diplomatic missions have escalated their online satire campaign against US President Donald Trump, releasing an explosive AI-generated video that portrays a Jesus-like figure physically attacking him. The latest instalment in the digital feud was shared by the Iranian Embassy in Tajikistan on 15 April, marking a sharp escalation in Tehran’s mockery of Trump’s earlier AI image depicting himself in a divine light.

Iranian missions escalate digital mockery

The Tajikistan post, a reworked version of a widely circulated clip, shows a furious Christ-like figure descending from the sky before punching Trump and hurling him into a pit of lava. A dramatic voiceover proclaims, “Your reckoning has come.”

This reversal directly mocks the AI image Trump had shared on Truth Social, in which he appeared draped in robes, radiating divine light and placing a glowing hand on a sick man in a biblical tableau. 

It is the latest in a coordinated wave of posts from Iranian diplomatic accounts. Earlier, Iran’s Embassy in South Africa reposted Trump’s original image with a caption referencing Jeffrey Epstein, asking whether the person being “healed” was actually the disgraced financier. The embassy had previously mocked Trump online by suggesting the “Strait of Trump” he once boasted about was located “next to Epstein Island.”

Backlash over Trump’s AI post

The controversy erupted after Trump’s AI-generated Messiah-style depiction triggered widespread condemnation from Christian activists, conservative commentators and religious leaders. Many labelled the post blasphemous and a direct affront to his evangelical supporters, with critics warning that “God shall not be mocked.”

Trump later defended the image, insisting it was meant to portray him as a doctor, not a religious figure. He eventually removed the post, citing public “confusion” around its intent.

Yet the diplomatic ridicule from Iran added fuel to an already charged debate, intertwining religious sensitivity with geopolitical tensions.

Diplomatic rift widens after Vatican spat

The uproar also came amid Trump’s public attack on Pope Leo XIV. The president criticised the pontiff for opposing the US–Israel offensive in Iran, describing him as “weak on crime” and “terrible” on foreign policy, and suggesting that without him in office “Leo would not be Vatican.”

Iranian leaders quickly came to the Pope’s defence. President Masoud Pezeshkian said the “desecration of Jesus” was “unacceptable to any free person” and affirmed Iran’s support for the pontiff. Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also praised Pope Leo XIV’s “fearless stand” against alleged US war crimes.

Pope Leo XIV, responding to Trump’s criticism, stated he had “no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly.”

For Tehran, Trump’s deleted AI post has become a potent tool in its digital confrontation with Washington. Pro-Iran media groups have amplified the ridicule further with AI-generated LEGO-style videos linking Trump to Epstein, adding satirical layers to the already viral imagery.