When US President Donald Trump torched Iran’s leadership in a long speech in front of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in Riyadh on Tuesday, he likely didn’t anticipate how warmly his words would resonate with many Iranians—or perhaps he did.
Across Persian-language social media, many users were almost in awe, surprised with both the content and tone of Trump’s speech. Even journalists inside Iran couldn’t help risking reprimand by praising a US president.
“It was so intelligent of Trump to highlight issues such as the destruction of monuments and the water mafia,” renowned journalist Sadra Mohaqeq wrote on X. "And what a coincidence that he said all this on the same day he lifted US sanctions on Syria."
In his speech in Riyadh, Trump described the Islamic Republic as a “destructive” force, accusing the rulers in Tehran of “stealing their people’s wealth to fund terror and bloodshed abroad,” just as neighboring Arab leaders were building their countries.
"No one could have described the situation of a plundered country in a few sentences better than Trump," Middle Eastern Studies student Masoud Paydari posted on X.
"He uttered the harshest and most bitter words with complete politeness," a classmate commented under his post.
Trump had no good words for Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei but all the world’s praise for Mohammad Bin Salman. Still, he left the door open for a “better and hopeful future” if Tehran chose to change course.
"He spoke as if he were a fellow Iranian chatting with a friend. His words were so clear. Iran’s officials should die of shame," user Maryamgh wrote on X. Many agreed, suggesting that an Iranian writer may have helped draft the US President’s speech.
Trump’s comments on Iran’s nuclear program were largely overlooked by Iranians on social media. It was his lengthy and detailed remarks about mismanagement, economic waste and cultural neglect that clearly struck a nerve.
"In a country on the southern part of the Persian Gulf, major international investors line up to offer cooperation, while another country on the northern part of the same gulf is left with no trade partners,” a user posting as Cryptosamz wrote on X, “because all its officials, from top to bottom, are thieves."
While social media users reacted with rare openness, Tehran’s major dailies remained conspicuously silent. Under apparent pressure not to credit Trump in Iran's tightly-controlled media landscape, they avoided the speech altogether.
Hardliners largely ignored it as well.
Kayhan, whose chief is appointed by Khamenei, was the only paper to address the speech directly, dismissing it as "reckless" with little elaboration. The IRGC-linked Javan stuck to its combative line. "We won’t negotiate if they insist on zero enrichment," read the headline.
State media covered Trump’s visit without pointing out its economic significance.
The wealth being amassed on the other side of the Persian Gulf was derided as mere "petrodollars," with no words of self-reflection on why they freely sell oil, reinvest profits, and fund global ventures as Iran—sitting on comparable if not superior natural resources—struggles to meet basic needs like water and electricity.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued one of his strongest denunciations of the West and Israel in recent months, vowing that the Islamic Republic would continue to confront what he described as Western-backed “savagery and bloodshed.”
"Standing up against the crimes and barbarism of the Zionist regime in Gaza and the West's support for this bloodshed is a collective duty," Khamenei told a group of Red Crescent Society rescue workers on Monday.
"Today, the world is being run by these human-like beasts, and the Islamic Republic considers it its duty to stand against their savagery and bloodshed," he added, according to a readout of his remarks published by his website on Wednesday.
The remarks were among the sharpest since talks between the United States and Iran began last month, and were published after US President Donald Trump lambasted Tehran's foreign and domestic policy in a Riyadh speech on Tuesday.
"It is precisely this sense of duty that drives enemies—like these well-dressed, cologne-wearing, Western savages in suits—to stand against and show hostility toward the Islamic Republic. If we stop opposing their barbarity, they would have no enmity with us," Khamenei said.
"The main issue of the Western bullies as the Islamic Republic's rejection of their false civilization and said: Falsehood is doomed to decline and destruction," he added.
"Standing up against the crimes and barbarism of the Zionist regime in Gaza and the West's support for this bloodshed is a collective duty," Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei told a group of Red Crescent Society rescue workers on Monday.
"Today, the world is being run by these human-like beasts, and the Islamic Republic considers it its duty to stand against their savagery and bloodshed," he added, according to a readout of his remarks published by his website on Wednesday.
The remarks were among the sharpest since talks between the United States and Iran began last month, and were published after US President Donald Trump lambasted Tehran's foreign and domestic policy in a Riyadh speech on Tuesday.
"It is this sense of duty that has driven enemies like the Westerners to confront the Islamic Republic, because if we stopped opposing their barbarity, they would have no enmity with us."
"The main issue of the Western bullies as the Islamic Republic's rejection of their false civilization and said: Falsehood is doomed to decline and destruction," he added.
President Donald Trump’s high-profile trip to Saudi Arabia has drawn renewed attention to the often fraught relationship between the Middle East’s main heavyweights: Sunni Saudi Arabia and its Shi'ite rival Iran.
While Trump’s trip may not have fundamentally shifted the course of Iran-Saudi relations, it underlines how central their evolving dynamic remains to the region’s future especially as nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington continue to unfold.
On Wednesday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan underscored the importance of the US-Iran nuclear talks, saying the kingdom fully supports them and hopes for a positive outcome.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in turn, visited Saudi Arabia on Saturday before the fourth round of talks with the US to brief them on the latest developments. He had said last Wednesday that Tehran seeks regional consensus on the talks and any potential deal.
Rivalry and diplomatic tension
The two regional powerhouses have long been vying for influence across the Middle East. Their rivalry has played out in a series of proxy conflicts over the past two decades — from Iraq and Bahrain to Syria and Yemen — where the two sides supported opposing factions.
One of the most acute flashpoints came in 2015, when Riyadh launched a military campaign in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Although Tehran has always denied direct military involvement, it has been widely accused of supplying weapons and political support.
Relations deteriorated further in 2016 after Saudi Arabia executed prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. The move sparked violent protests and attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad, prompting Riyadh to sever diplomatic ties. This marked one of the lowest points in bilateral relations in decades.
Aramco attack
A September 2019 drone and missile attack on the state-owned Saudi Aramco oil hub that disrupted about five percent of global oil supply marked one of the most significant escalations in the Tehran-Riyadh relations in recent years.
Although the Houthis claimed responsibility and Iran denied any involvement, the sophistication of the weaponry used in the attacks led not only Riyadh and Washington but also European powers to directly blame Iran.
Riyadh appeared to change tack away from years of direct and indirect confrontation with Tehran gradually after the assault on its economic lifeline, paving the way for detente.
Signs of a diplomatic thaw
The recent years have seen a cautious thaw in relations. After the initiation of direct talks in April 2021, a breakthrough came in 2023 with Chinese-brokered talks that led to the restoration of diplomatic relations. Since then, both sides have tentatively explored cooperation and re-engagement, even as deep-seated mistrust remains.
From early 2025 to now, Iranian and Saudi officials have held multiple high-level meetings.
Diplomatic momentum picked up pace in October 2024, when the newly appointed Araghchi visited Riyadh and met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and foreign minister amid growing the growing Gaza conflict.
The timing — just days before another round of Tehran-Washington nuclear talks — underscored Saudi Arabia’s possible diplomatic involvement.
Araghchi returned to Riyadh on May 10, ahead of the fourth and most recent round of nuclear talks in Doha. Iranian media reported that he delivered a response to the Saudi king’s letter, continuing what appeared to be an unprecedented backchannel of direct communication.
Toward a regional nuclear consortium?
During Trump’s meetings in Riyadh, the possibility of a civil nuclear agreement between the US and Saudi Arabia was reportedly discussed.
The initiative, not officially confirmed by either Tehran or Riyadh so far, may have been pitched as a confidence-building measure designed to reassure the West about Iran’s nuclear intentions while embedding regional powers and the United States in a shared framework.
Saudi Arabia, long intent on developing its own civilian nuclear capabilities, may view such a proposal as an opportunity to gain influence over regional nuclear policy while maintaining checks on Iran’s activities. However, significant technical and political obstacles would need to be overcome.
Hossein Salami, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), characterize current events as the “era of historic battle between Islamic forces and global satanic powers".
Salami further accused President Donald Trump of trying to "make the Iranian nation lose hope in the Islamic Revolution and the system."
His comments came a day after Trump's sharp criticism of Iran's leadership in a lengthy speech in Saudi Arabia.
"Iran's decades of neglect and mismanagement have left the country plagued by rolling blackouts lasting for hours a day ... While your skill has turned dry deserts into fertile farmland, Iran's leaders have managed to turn green farmland into dry deserts as their corrupt water mafia ... causes droughts and empty river beds. They get rich," the US president said.
In his Wednesday remarks, Salami also said that "the Iranian nation is invincible and cannot be humiliated on the battlefield, nor will it be defeated in the field of diplomacy."
