Passport

Khamenei Schadenfreudes All Over the U.S. for Ferguson Protests

The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rarely skips an opportunity to bash the United States. The tense standoff in Ferguson, Missouri, is giving him a new chance to engage in some very serious Twitter schadenfreude. In the days since 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot dead by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, the Twitterverse ...

By , an Alfa fellow and Foreign Policy’s special correspondent covering Russia and Eurasia. He was formerly an associate editor.
-/AFP/Getty Images
-/AFP/Getty Images
-/AFP/Getty Images

The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rarely skips an opportunity to bash the United States. The tense standoff in Ferguson, Missouri, is giving him a new chance to engage in some very serious Twitter schadenfreude.

The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rarely skips an opportunity to bash the United States. The tense standoff in Ferguson, Missouri, is giving him a new chance to engage in some very serious Twitter schadenfreude.

In the days since 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot dead by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, the Twitterverse has been full of eye-opening photos and videos of unarmed protesters squaring off against heavily-armed police equipped with sniper rifles and armored vehicles that seem better suited for Afghanistan than for a small Missouri town. Khamenei — or whoever runs his English-language Twitter account — has clearly taken notice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Khamenei isn’t the only critic of America reveling in the images from Ferguson. For instance, the Russian media have used the arrests of two reporters to accuse the U.S. of double-standards on press freedom, in effect turning a common American critique of the government of Russian strongman Vladimir Putin on its head. Palestinians have pointed to the similarities between the events in Ferguson and their own clashes with Israeli security forces, and have even shared some practical tips about how to deal with tear gas.

Reid Standish is an Alfa fellow and Foreign Policy’s special correspondent covering Russia and Eurasia. He was formerly an associate editor. Twitter: @reidstan

Read More On Iran | Middle East and North Africa | Politics

Latest

The Year-End AUKUS Push

Will the Cease-Fire Change Israel’s Strategy?

Israel Weighing Special Court for Palestinian Suspects in Oct. 7 Massacre

South Korea Offers a Chance to Modernize Old Alliances

Jordan’s Teetering Balancing Act
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose
  2. 2
    Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
  3. 3
    Britain’s Navy Is Diminished. Its Ambitions Are Not.
  4. 4
    Solving the Mystery of Henry Kissinger’s Reputation
  5. 5
    Why Xi Thinks He Got the Better of Biden
  6. 6
    Jordan’s Teetering Balancing Act

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.

Trending

  1. Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
    Argument
    Annie Sparrow

  2. Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
    Obituary
    Michael Hirsh

  3. Why Xi Thinks He Got the Better of Biden
    Analysis
    James Crabtree

  4. Britain’s Navy Is Diminished. Its Ambitions Are Not.
    Dispatch
    Alexander Wooley

  5. Solving the Mystery of Henry Kissinger’s Reputation
    Argument
    Stephen M. Walt