New Delhi, July 30 -- "Boom, boom, boom," Katy Perry sang, "even brighter than the moon." The caption read: "Iran has been warned." The nine-second clip was posted Thursday to the official @WhiteHouse TikTok account. By Friday, its author had a response.

Perry has spoken in interviews for years about writing "Firework" in 2010 during a period of personal crisis, designing its chorus specifically to reach people searching for any spark in themselves. The song went platinum many times over and became a fixture in school counseling programs, LGBTQ advocacy campaigns, and sports arenas precisely because it carries no political edge. The White House found a use for that neutrality its author never anticipated.

"I am deeply appalled and angry...