Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei issued a threatening tweet toward Israel on Tuesday, and Israeli officials trolled him. Hard.
The Ayatollah, seemingly without direct provocation, said that West Asia would be better off if Israel were to be "eradicated," however such vitriolic language coming out of Iran about Israel is nothing new.
"Our stance against Israel is the same stance we have always taken," Khamenei wrote. "#Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated: it is possible and it will happen. 7/31/91 #GreatReturnMarch"
Our stance against Israel is the same stance we have always taken. #Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor in the We… https://t.co/4det1mWF1V— Khamenei.ir (@Khamenei.ir) 1528048167.0
In response to Iran's wishes of total and utter destruction of the Israeli state, the Israeli Embassy decided to employ a new diplomatic tactic—trolling Iran with a Mean Girls gif. In the gif, protagonist (or is she the antagonist?) Regina George, played by Rachel McAdams, is seen saying, "why are you so obsessed with me?" to her friend, Gretchen Weiners.
@khamenei_ir https://t.co/1dRRE7Nv1s— Embassy of Israel (@Embassy of Israel) 1528128717.0
The gif seems an appropriate and measured response to the clockwork-like jabs at Israel that Iran has been dishing out for decades.
Twitter, however, had mixed reactions to Israel's response. Some people found the exchange to be hilarious.
@IsraelinUSA @khamenei_ir LOL, you win the Internet, @IsraelinUSA!— (((No, I'm the OTHER Dan Levy))) (@(((No, I'm the OTHER Dan Levy)))) 1528131563.0
@IsraelinUSA @khamenei_ir https://t.co/e8WAzg5fgK— Ian Cognito #FreeTommyRobinson (@Ian Cognito #FreeTommyRobinson) 1528135912.0
@IsraelinUSA @davidbest95 @khamenei_ir 😎✡️🕎 https://t.co/BNyqqi3b2D— Dominik Korthaus 🇪🇺🏳️🌈 (@Dominik Korthaus 🇪🇺🏳️🌈) 1528136374.0
But others expressed concern, stemming from the apparent breakdown in international dialogue, in this case, two sovereign nations which have been on the cusp on armed conflict, resorting to petty memes and gifs as a way to conduct diplomacy.
2018 is where two countries on the brink of war with each other send gifs in response to serious threats. I am so t… https://t.co/QHrHH6wIBI— Nicholas (@Nicholas) 1528170513.0
And then there were those who just can't anymore, with anything, because WTF is our world in 2018.
@IsraelinUSA @JEichenblatt @khamenei_ir This is it. This is 2018.— Stephen DeAugustino (@Stephen DeAugustino) 1528131629.0
we're actually in hell https://t.co/bJnm6GyJ5K— i love sham (@i love sham) 1528142377.0
to recap, an embassy of ISRAEL replied to a TWEET by the SUPREME LEADER OF IRAN with a MEAN GIRLS GIF and you're te… https://t.co/eYinT9bpUm— Danya (@Danya) 1528172967.0
What a time to be alive.