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| Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |
NEWS
Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that he is ready “to be the first man in space” under Iran's ambitious programme which aims to send a human being into orbit by 2020.This statement from the Iranian president triggered a statment from US Senator John McCain:
"So Ahmadinejad wants to be the first Iranian in space – wasn’t he just there last week?" McCain said in a tweet that also linked to a story about Iran’s claim to have launched a monkey into space last week.
The tweet drew criticism from McCain’s twitter followers, who called the joke disgusting, despicable, and racist, among other things. McCain fired back in a tweet, telling everyone to "lighten up" and learn how to take a joke. But even colleagues from McCain’s own party found the 76-year-old senator’s humor a little too over the top.
