Meta removes Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei’s Instagram accounts
Persian and English accounts belonging to Iran’s supreme leader were disabled on Thursday afternoon…
MIDDLE EAST EYE
Meta removed Instagram accounts belonging to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday following months of pressure from pro-Israel groups.
Khamenei’s Persian-language account had more than 5.1 million followers, while his English-language account had more than 204,000.
“We have removed these accounts for repeatedly violating our Dangerous Organizations & Individuals policy,” a Meta spokesperson told Middle East Eye following the accounts’ removal.
Under the policy, Meta removes “organisations or individuals that proclaim a violent mission or are engaged in violence” from its platforms.
There have been repeated calls from Iranian opposition and pro-Israel campaigners to ban Khamenei’s social media accounts, particularly in the wake of the 7 October Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel.
Although both Iran and the US have denied the Islamic Republic had any involvement in the attacks, Khamenei has been accused of praising the incident – which left around 1,140 people dead – on social media.
He has also publicly supported Palestinian resistance against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza as well as attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Khamenei, who has been in power since the death of his predecessor Ruhollah Khomenei in 1989, previously had accounts suspended on Instagram in 2019, but they were later restored.
