--- title: Benjamin Netanyahu Congress Speech: Iran's Supreme Leader Subtweets description: Iran's supreme leader responded to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress with a tweet. canonical: https://time.com/3730491/benjamin-netanyahu-ali-khamenei-twitter/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-03T19:17:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:40:54.253Z article:section: Politics og:title: Iran's Supreme Leader Just Subtweeted Netanyahu's Speech og:description: After Netanyahu called him out for past tweets og:url: https://time.com/3730491/benjamin-netanyahu-ali-khamenei-twitter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e8c426dc2158d0d/698781e7428a9eb3d6cc76a3/netanyahu-congress3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2071 og:image:height: 1165 og:image:alt: Israeli PM Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of US Congress og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Iran's Supreme Leader Just Subtweeted Netanyahu's Speech twitter:description: After Netanyahu called him out for past tweets twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e8c426dc2158d0d/698781e7428a9eb3d6cc76a3/netanyahu-congress3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Iran's Supreme Leader Just Subtweeted Netanyahu's Speech > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Know Right Now: Netanyahu's Visit Causes Tensions Between Israel and the U.S. [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Netanyahu's Visit Causes Tensions Between Israel and the U.S.](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1r3FQru4.m3u8) (1:03)  _Published 2015-02-25. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to speak before a joint session of Congress on March 3rd, and the upcoming speech is having an affect on politics worldwide._ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Mar 3, 2015 7:17 PM UTC  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech to a joint meeting of Congress on the floor of the US House of Representatives in the US Capitol in Washington, DC on March 3, 2015. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech to a joint meeting of Congress on the floor of the US House of Representatives in the US Capitol in Washington, DC on March 3, 2015. Michael Reynolds—EPA by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Mar 3, 2015 7:17 PM UTC Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called out Iran for tweeting threats to his country during [his speech before Congress on Tuesday](http://time.com/3730224/benjamin-netanyahu-congress-iran/)—so it’s not surprising that Iran responded with a tweet. “Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei spews the oldest hatred, the oldest hatred of anti-Semitism with the newest technology,” Netanyahu said. “He tweets that Israel must be annihilated—he _tweets_. You know, in Iran, there isn’t exactly free Internet. But he tweets in English that Israel must be destroyed.” Two hours later, a Twitter account associated with Khamenei responded with a tweet, or more properly, a subtweet, since it didn’t mention Netanyahu or his speech to Congress: > [](https://twitter.com/khamenei%5Fir/status/572832143887482881) It’s not the first time the Iranian leader’s account, which has 103,000 followers, has taken a shot at the United States. [As TIME reported last year](http://time.com/3618706/iran-ferguson-u-s-twitter/), the Twitter account also accused the United States of “racial discrimination” after a grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., decided not to indict a white police officer who shot and killed a black teenager. ### 7 Times World Leaders Addressed Congress  Pope Francis, addressed a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress with with Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House John Boehner in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Sept. 24, 2015, urging legislators to work together to solve problems and avoid polarization Jim Lo Scalzo—EPA  Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, addressed Congress on March 3, 2015, urging a stop to the Iran nuclear talks. His policy positions are often controversial, but he enjoys a privileged position when it comes to visiting the legislature, this was his third visit to Congress. Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images  Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli Prime Minister, and King Hussein of Jordan shake hands following a joint address to Congress on July 26, 1994\. In the second of two Arab-Israeli appearances, Jordan's leader appeared with Israel's prime minister to celebrate their peace treaty. The treaty, signed the next month, ended a 46-year state of war. David Rubinger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Nelson Mandela addresses Congress on June 26, 1990\. At the time, he was president of the African National Congress. Apartheid was still law in South Africa and Mandela had only just been released from prison a few months before his appearance before lawmakers. Kevin Larkin—AFP/Getty Images  Benazir Bhutto, prime minister of Pakistan, addresses Congress on June 7, 1989\. She was the first woman elected to lead an Islamic state, and she remains Pakistan's only woman prime minister to date. After serving two non-consecutive terms, she was exiled to Dubai in 1999\. She returned to Pakistan in 2007 to run for the office again, and was assassinated. J.Scott—AP  Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, addressed Congress on Feb. 20, 1985\. She was the first female head of state to do so who was not a monarch. Bob Daugherty—AP  Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin respond to applause in the chambers of the U.S. House of Representatives during a joint session of Congress on Sept. 18, 1978\. A day earlier, the leaders had signed the historic Camp David accords, which ended 30 years of war and led to a peace treaty between the two nations in 1979. AP  Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, addressed Congress on April 12, 1962\. He was deposed in 1979\. No Iranian leader has addressed a joint session since. Aziz Rashki—AP ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] I did not consult with the White House the Congress can make this decision on its own. I don't believe I'm poking anyone in the eye. > For us to undermine diplomacy at this critical time for no good reason is a mistake. I want there to be no confusion on this point. Israel will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. There has now been injected a degree of partisanship, which is not only unfortunate, I think it's. It, it's destructive of the fabric of the relationship. 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