The jab comes amid the backlash over a controversial social media post by the US president

An Iranian embassy has shared an AI-generated video depicting Jesus casting Donald Trump into hell, following backlash over a social media post in which the US president appeared to portray himself as a Christ-like healer.

Trump posted the image on Truth Social on Sunday but deleted it the following day after a wave of criticism, saying he had not recognized its religious implications. It originally appeared in February, when author Nick Adams shared it with the caption: "America has been sick for a long time. President Trump is healing this nation." Trump's version was slightly altered.

On Tuesday, the Iranian embassy in Tajikistan posted a clip that opens with the image that Trump had posted. The glow coming from his hands quickly fades as Jesus descends from heaven, slaps him across the face, and sends him tumbling into a fiery abyss.

The video had already been circulating online prior to being reposted by the Iranian embassy, and similar interpretations had appeared elsewhere. Various responses to the 'healer' image depict Jesus angrily expelling Trump as a 'moneymaker' from the Temple of Jerusalem, echoing a well-known story from the Gospels...

...or simply punching him.

Trump's critics have expanded on the concept, using AI tools to generate multiple scenarios in which the savior violently intervenes in the president's life.

The controversy coincided with Trump criticizing Pope Leo, accusing him of being "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy" - remarks that strained relations with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The typically supportive European leader described the comments as unacceptable.