The war on Iran has coincided with the release of large troves of US government files that documented the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to rich and powerful people, reports Al Jazeera.

President Donald Trump, who has denounced Epstein as a “creep”, had been photographed many times with the financier who abused dozens of young women and girls for years, writes columnist Ali Harb.

So Tehran has been trying to emphasise the links between Epstein and the ruling class in the US to portray its foes in Washington as morally inferior.

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Yesterday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said millions of Iranians marching at al-Quds Day rally in Tehran in support of Palestine faced an assault by the “Epstein gang”, referring to US and Israeli strikes.

Hours earlier, Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani also brought up Epstein when responding to US secretary of War Pete Hegseth who had claimed that Iranian leaders were hiding like “rats”.

Larijani, President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other top officials had attended the Tehran rally earlier and footage showed them mingling with people.

“Mr Hegseth! Our leaders have been, and still are, among the people. But your leaders? On Epstein’s island!” Larijani wrote on X.

Last week, when Trump was pushing to be involved in the selection of Iran’s next supreme leader, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had a message for the US president, also involving Epstein.

“The fate of dear Iran . . .  will be determined solely by the proud Iranian nation, not by Epstein’s gang,” Ghalibaf said.

Pete Hegseth: “Iran’s leadership — desperate & hiding. They’ve gone underground. Cowering. That’s what rats do.”

Here is Iran’s Foreign Minister on the streets of Tehran not hiding or cowering but instead talking about the “incredible will & determination of the Iranian people.” pic.twitter.com/mWlnxOFePG

— Power to the People ☭ (@ProudSocialist) March 13, 2026

Araghchi said yesterday European countries thought they would get more support for Ukraine by backing the war against Iran, but instead, the conflict resulted in sanction relief for Russian oil imports.

With the exception of Spain and a few other nations, European countries and the European Union responded to the US-Israeli attack on Iran — which legal scholars say is unlawful — by slamming the Iranian government.

“Europe thought backing illegal war on Iran would win US support against Russia,” Araghchi wrote in a post on X. “Pathetic.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Israel has always tried to draw the US into wars fought “on its behalf”, reports Anadolu Ajansi.

“Israel has always sought to drag the US into fighting wars on its behalf. But remarkably, this time they are saying the quiet part out loud,” Araghchi wrote on the US social media company X, quoting a post by Tamir Morag, a diplomatic affairs correspondent for Israel’s Channel 14.

Araghchi said Iran’s streets are “soaked in blood,” accusing Israel of boasting about arming protesters, which he said was behind “hundreds of deaths.”

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He added that if US President Donald Trump wants to stop the killing in Iran, he should address Israel to prevent the arming of protesters.

“With blood on our streets, Israel is explicitly gloating about having ‘armed protestors with live weapons’, and this is the reason for the hundreds of dead,” Araghchi said.

Morag earlier wrote on X that “Foreign elements are arming the protesters in Iran with live weapons, and this is the reason for the hundreds of dead among the regime’s people.”

“Anyone is free to guess who we’re talking about,” he added.

Meanwhile, the US mission in Saudi Arabia advised its personnel and American citizens on Wednesday to exercise “increased caution” in the region amid ongoing tensions.

US officials have escalated rhetoric against Iran amid anti-government protests that have swept the country since late last month over worsening economic conditions.

Thank you, Foreign Minister Araghchi, for this tweet, which makes it clear to President Trump just how stupid and susceptible to transparent manipulation you believe he is.

You will not be able to deflect attention from the bloodbath that you and your terrorist colleagues are… https://t.co/DPPNA3UMf7

— תמיר מורג Tamir Morag (@Tamir114) January 14, 2026

On Tuesday, Trump told CBS News that Washington would take “very strong action” if Iranian authorities carried out executions of protesters.

Iranian government officials have accused the US and Israel of backing what they describe as “riots” and “terrorism” amid the ongoing protests.

Iranian authorities have not released official figures on casualties or detainees. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a US-based group, estimates that at least 2500 people have been killed, including protesters and security personnel, and more than 1100 others injured.

Republished under a Creative Commons licence.