An Iranian photographer has hit out at US President Donald Trump for using one of her award-winning pictures in a tweet.

In an Instagram post, Yalda Moaiery said it caused her “deep sorrow” to see Trump use one of her pictures on a February 11 tweet hitting out at the Iranian regime.

Moaiery said she took the picture in 2018 during demonstrations at Tehran University when circumstances were “very difficult”.

Contacted later by Euronews, the Iranian photographer said: “Because of his policies, I, my family, and my friends are forced to live under sanctions that are devastating to our lives. Our currency lost 70% of its value. We all became poor. Even if I could go to America financially (I cannot) to visit my dad, I wouldn’t be able to go, as he has imposed a travel ban on the Iranians he says he cares so deeply for.”

She added the picture was for her people and not for “men in Washington”.

Moiaery, 37, is a war and conflict photographer who has captured the effects of war in many countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon.

Asked whether the Iranian authorities had encouraged her to speak out about the picture, Moaiery said the initiative had been entirely her own.