India, April 24 -- Iran on Thursday came out in defence of India and China, describing them as "cradles of civilisation" after US President Donald Trump referred to the two countries as "hellholes" while sharing a controversial post on immigration.

In a sharply worded response, the Iranian Embassy in Hyderabad said on X, "China and India are the cradles of civilisation. In fact, the hellhole is where its war-criminal president threatened to decimate civilisation in Iran."

The remarks add a new diplomatic dimension to an already escalating controversy triggered by Trump's social media activity on his platform, Truth Social.

India and China are widely regarded as among the world's oldest continuous civilisations, with cultural and histor...