Social platform X suspends new account on behalf of Iran’s supreme leader

Social platform X has suspended a new account that posted messages in Hebrew on behalf of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The account was suspended early Monday with a short note added: “X suspends accounts that violate the X Rules.” It was not immediately clear what the violation was. Elon Musk’s social media company did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

The measure came after Israel openly attacked Iran this weekend for the first time. Khamenei said this in a speech on Sunday Israeli attacks – in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack this month – “should not be exaggerated or downplayed,” while without calling for retaliation.

The X account was opened on Sunday with a message in Hebrew: “In the name of God, the Most Merciful,” a standard Islamic greeting.

Khamenei’s office has been running multiple accounts for the 85-year-old supreme leader on X for years and has sent messages in several languages ​​in the past.

A second message corresponded to a speech Khamenei gave on Sunday and was sent on his English account as: “Zionists are making a miscalculation regarding Iran. They don’t know Iran. They have still failed to correctly understand the power, initiative and determination of the Iranian people.” The message referred to Israel’s attack on Iran on Saturday.

This is not the first time Khamenei has faced suspension or removal from social media. In February, Meta deleted Facebook and Instagram accounts for the supreme leader over his support for the militant group Hamas following the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Social media platforms such as X and Facebook have been blocked in Iran for years, forcing Iranians to use virtual private networks to access them.

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Here’s the latest:

The UN Security Council convenes an emergency meeting at Iran’s request

UNITED NATIONS – The UN Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on Monday afternoon at the request of Iran on the Israeli air strikes on the country.

Switzerland, which holds the council’s rotating presidency, announced the meeting on Sunday and said the Iranian request was backed by Russia, China and Algeria, the Arab representative on the council.

Iran’s president promises to respond ‘appropriately’ to Israeli attacks

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says his country will respond “appropriately” to Israel after Israel openly attacked Iranian military sites for the first time this weekend.

“We are not looking for war, but we will defend the rights of our nation and our country and respond appropriately to the aggression of the Zionist regime,” Pezeshkian said on state television on Sunday.

Pezeshkian also said the US had promised Iran it would stop the war in Gaza and Lebanon if Iran restrains itself. “They promised to end the war in response to our reluctance, but they did not keep their word,” he said.

The Iranian president also warned that tensions will escalate if Israel’s aggression continues, adding: “We know that the United States is encouraging Israel to commit these atrocities.”

Iran says a civilian was killed in the Israeli attack

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran announced Sunday that a civilian was killed in the Israeli attack on the country, without providing any details about the circumstances of his death.

State news agency IRNA identified the dead man as Allahverdi Rahimpour and said he lived in a suburb of southwestern Tehran.

While IRNA did not provide details about what he did or where he was killed, it made it clear that he was not a member of the Iranian armed forces.

Iran has so far provided few details about the attack and the damage it caused.