Iran's Vice President for Strategic Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, made headlines on June 25 by suggesting that U.S. President Donald Trump is suffering from schizophrenia and requires medical treatment.
The remarks came as relations between Tehran and Washington remain at a high level of tension, particularly following U.S. airstrikes on Iran-related targets in the Middle East.
The Iranian vice president emphasized that Trump's recent decisions, especially regarding Iran policy, indicate signs of psychological instability. Zarif called on the international community to exercise caution in response to the U.S. leader's statements and actions.
The Iranian official's declaration immediately drew a response from Washington. A U.S. State Department spokesperson dismissed the accusation as baseless and aimed at diverting attention from Iran's domestic issues.
Earlier, President Trump had repeatedly made hardline statements about Iran's nuclear program and military activities in the region, while imposing multiple rounds of economic sanctions on Tehran.
Analysts suggest that personal attacks between the two nations rarely lead to substantive changes in bilateral relations, but they reflect the severe erosion of trust between both sides amid stalled nuclear negotiations.
