Tehran: Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf mocked US President Donald Trump on Monday by publishing a graphic captioned "Make America Hungry Again." The move followed a post by Trump sharing a report that misquoted the Iranian official.

The exchange began when Trump shared a report on his Truth Social platform featuring an inaccurate quote attributing the statement, "We Are Hungry, We Cannot Survive," to Ghalibaf.

In response, Ghalibaf posted an image playing on Trump's signature campaign slogan. The graphic included figures highlighting statistics on food insecurity and hunger in the United States.

Without naming the US president directly, Ghalibaf added, "You cannot cover up your defeats with baseless claims."

The online exchange follows an announcement by Trump outlining plans for what he termed "the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country." The US president described the strategy as "economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale," warning foreign entities and governments that offering Tehran an economic "lifeline" would lead to strict economic penalties.

Tensions between the two countries have escalated significantly over recent months. Joint military strikes by the US and Israel against Iranian targets in late February led to retaliatory attacks by Tehran across the region, before a ceasefire was agreed in April.

Although Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding in mid June regarding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, negotiations later stalled. US strikes resumed last month, prompting further Iranian retaliation against US military installations and equipment in neighbouring states.