The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has suspended a new account created on behalf of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that posted messages in Hebrew. The suspension came early Monday, with a brief note stating that the account had violated X’s rules, although the specific violation was not immediately clear.
The move followed Israel’s first open attack on Iran this weekend, which was in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month. In a speech on Sunday, Khamenei said that Israel’s strikes “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed,” while stopping short of calling for retaliation.
The now-suspended X account was opened on Sunday with a message in Hebrew reading, “In the name of God, the most merciful,” a standard Islamic greeting. Khamenei’s office has maintained multiple accounts on X for years, sending messages in various languages.
A second message on the account, which corresponded to Khamenei’s Sunday speech, was sent on his English account, stating, “Zionists are making a miscalculation with respect to Iran. They don’t know Iran. They still haven’t been able to correctly understand the power, initiative, and determination of the Iranian people.”
This is not the first time Khamenei has faced suspension or removal from social media platforms. In February, Meta removed Facebook and Instagram accounts for the supreme leader over his support of the militant group Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Social media platforms like X and Facebook have been blocked in Iran for years, requiring Iranians to use virtual private networks to access them. The Elon Musk-owned social media company, X, did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press regarding the specific reason for the account’s suspension.
