A towering image of Donald Trump with his mouth sewn shut looms over Valiasr Avenue, one of Tehran’s busiest thoroughfares. The US president’s mouth is covered by a blue veil in the shape of the Strait of Hormuz. Beside his image, a slogan in Persian – which graphic designers have made sure to also translate into English reads: "At the breaking point."
Commuters make their way past an anti-US billboard referring to President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, installed on a building at the Valiasr Square in Tehran on May 2, 2026 © AFP
The billboard-sized poster was installed on May 2, when the war was in full swing and negotiations over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz had stalled. This maritime passage, which Iran seeks to control – and through which nearly 25% of the world's oil is transported, is displayed here as a weapon capable of silencing Washington.
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