‘Blood for blood’: Iran displays giant billboard with Donald, Melania and Trump children in coffins
A billboard unveiled in central Tehran showing US President Donald Trump and his family members above coffins draped in the American flag has escalated Iran’s messaging against Washington, with the slogan ‘Blood for Blood’ prominently displayed amid the ongoing conflict between the two countries.The mural, installed in Palestine Square, depicts Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and their five children: Ivanka, Donald Trump Jr, Eric, Tiffany and Barron above coffins set against the backdrop of the White House, The Telegraph reported.The billboard is the latest in a series of state-produced murals targeting Trump as military tensions between the United States and Iran continue to intensify.The slogan ‘Blood for Blood’ accompanies the display, which, according to the report, threatens revenge for US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several members of his family.Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28. The attacks also killed his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and infant granddaughter. Images of Khamenei and his relatives have since been displayed across Iran, including during his funeral.The latest billboard comes days after another giant display in Tehran’s Enghelab Square depicted Trump lying inside an open black coffin beneath the words ‘We Kill Trump’ written in both Persian and English.That mural showed Trump with his eyes and mouth closed, his hair dishevelled and his hands resting on a red tie. White graffiti on the coffin also read, “In memory of Minab’s children”, referring to the southern Iranian city where a strike hit an elementary school on February 28.The Palestine Square wall has for years served as a platform for state-backed murals carrying anti-US and anti-Israel messages. Supporters of Iran’s government frequently gather there, waving Palestinian and Hezbollah flags.According to The Telegraph, Tehran’s largest murals are designed by the Owj Arts and Media Organisation, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The displays have regularly been used to oppose negotiations with the US and promote the Islamic Republic’s regional, nuclear and missile policies.The latest mural follows several increasingly threatening displays across Tehran in recent weeks. Besides depicting Trump inside a coffin, another mural showed his face inside a rifle’s crosshairs, while another carried the message, “Who’s next?”, beneath the name of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who died earlier this month.The displays come as the United States has intensified military operations against Iran. Earlier this week, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces carried out fresh strikes on Iranian command centres, air defence systems, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities, including targets near Bandar Abbas and on Greater Tunb Island.Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed revenge following Khamenei’s killing. According to The Telegraph, his son and successor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has said those responsible would not die ‘peacefully in their beds’.The billboard also comes days after an Iran-backed militia umbrella group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq announced a $10 million reward for anyone who kills Trump, describing it as retaliation for the 2020 US drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.Trump has previously warned that any Iranian attempt to assassinate him would be met with a ‘severe and destructive’ response from the United States.
