Middle East latest: 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 move came after Israel openly attacked Iran for the first time this weekend. Khamenei said in a speech on Sunday that Israel’s attacks – in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack this month – “should not be exaggerated or downplayed”, while he did not call 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.