The son of a prominent reformist politician ignited a firestorm on social-media when he said he owes his success in life to "good genes."
The comments by Hamid Reza Aref, the son of former Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, currently the head of the reformist faction in parliament, quickly led to a #goodgenes hashtag that has heaped scorn on the 39-year-old successful businessman and on cronyism in Iran in general.
"The reason for child labor is clear now: a lack of good genes," tweeted a user.
Iranian actor Mohammad Naderi wrote on his Instagram account:
"This is not an ordinary selfie. It's a failed attempt to find good genes in my face. Unfortunately, like most people, I have some useless genes that are good for nothing. They don't know how to import Porsches and Maseratis and seal contracts with foreign companies."
"When you realize you lack good genes," said the caption of a photo on Twitter showing the puppet, Kermit the Frog, smoking while pensively looking out a window.
Many posted pictures of those who -- in their eyes -- have good genes, including soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the bloody 1980-88 war with Iraq.
Some posted pictures of political prisoners, including physicist Omid Kokabee, who was granted medical leave from prison in 2016 after having a kidney removed.
"He was a top student but, unlike Aref, his parents didn't have good genes so he was jailed for several years and suffered from a kidney problem," a user wrote while posting a picture of Kokabee.
