A member of the Iranian parliament says the country’s hardliners are “the most worthless creatures” that ever existed in the world.

Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi’s comments come following harsh criticism from regime supporters after he criticized the internal exile sentence against journalist Marzieh Mahmoudi to Torbat-e Jam, a city in the northeast.

Jahanabadi, representing the people of Torbat-e Jam in parliament, spoke out against the decision and expressed his disdain for those who filed the complaint that led to her sentencing.

After the ultraconservatives attacked him, Jahanabadi tweeted on Saturday that "You hardliners are the most useless creatures in the world, and people do not even give a damn about you."

Hamid Rasaei a hardline cleric had complained to the court against the journalist. In another tweet, Jahanabadi expressed surprise at the ruling and criticized the basis of the complaint, stating, "A strange ruling was announced in the news, and a female journalist was sentenced to be exiled to Torbat-e Jam due to a complaint by a cleric…We prefer to be in exile for the rest of our lives but not to agree with the likes of Rasaei."

However, his remarks subjected him to verbal attacks from supporters of the regime on social media platforms.

The initial dispute arose when Rasaei, former member of Parliament, made highly offensive remarks about protesters. Marzieh Mahmoudi, in response, criticized him in a post on her own social media page, which subsequently led to Rasaei’s complaint against her.