Israel Spokesman Ridicules Tehran on Social Media, Tweets ‘Let’s Play a Game: Iran or ISIS?’
by Ruthie Blum
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s newly appointed foreign media spokesperson launched a social media barrage against Iran on Sunday, for the second time in three days.
David Keyes took to Twitter to ridicule an assertion by the Islamic Republic’s head of state, reported by Iraqi-Kurdish media outlet Rudaw.
“President [Hassan] Rouhani just claimed Iran is stopping ISIS from taking over Iraq and Syria,” Keyes wrote. “Huge relief! Let’s play a game: Iran or ISIS?”
Keyes, former executive director of the organization Advancing Human Rights and co-founder of CyberDissidents.org, then provided Twitter followers a thread consisting of eight, tongue-in-cheek “multiple-choice” questions and their answers:
Blows up civilians around the world: Iran or ISIS?
A) Iran B) ISIS C) Both;
Murders gay people: Iran or ISIS? A) Iran B) ISIS C) Both, didn’t you know?;
Calls to destroy Israel: Iran or ISIS? A) Iran B) ISIS C) Still both;
Imposes theocratic dictatorship: Iran or ISIS? A) Iran B) ISIS C) You guessed it, both;
Seeks global militant Islamic rule: Iran or ISIS? A) Iran B) ISIS C) Still both;
Persecutes minorities: Iran or ISIS? A) Iran B) ISIS C) All of the above;
Tortures and executes political opponents: Iran or ISIS? A) Iran B) ISIS C) A and B;
Jails journalists: Iran or ISIS? A) Iran B) ISIS C) Yes, still both.
He then winded down the “exam” by tweeting: “Iran claims it’s stopping ISIS’ murderous terrorist regime by imposing its own, more powerful murderous terrorist regime. What a deal!”
He concluded the thread with similar sarcasm:
Huge thanks to Iranian regime for trying to stop ISIS. Also a big thank you to cancer for reducing the risk of heart attacks.
— David Keyes (@DavidKeyesPMO) April 24, 2016
This Twitter assault came on the heels of another thread Keyes posted on Thursday. As The Algemeiner reported on Friday, his first “attack” was aimed at Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. More specifically, he was railing against a Washington Post op-ed, in which Zarif claimed that Tehran’s build-up of weapons was an act of necessary self-defense against global terrorists – and the West that is both responsible for and does nothing to stop their actions.
Though this had been Keyes’ first Twitter war since taking up his post a few weeks ago, it was not the first time he had confronted Zarif. In October 2013, he had an exchange with the Iranian foreign minister and chief nuclear-deal negotiator in Vienna, which was documented by CBS.
Keyes approached Zarif and asked him if he thought it was ironic that he frequently uploaded posts to Facebook while his regime banned the use of the social media outlet for the general public.
“That’s life,” Zarif replied, laughing.
Keys didn’t stop there, challenging Zarif on when imprisoned civil rights activist Majid Tavakoli would be released. “I don’t know him,” Zarif answered, sparking subsequent expressions of outrage against Zarif on his Facebook page. Shortly thereafter, Tavakoli was freed.
“I’m totally overjoyed,” Keyes told CBSNews.com at the time. “(Tavakoli) symbolizes a lot of other people in Iran.”
Keyes, originally from California and subsequently a resident of New York, has replaced Mark Regev, who is now serving as Israel’s ambassador to the UK.