Meta Removes Khamenei’s Instagram, Facebook Accounts

Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, has removed the accounts of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the two platforms.

“We have removed these accounts for repeatedly violating our Dangerous Organizations & Individuals policy," Middle East Eye news website quoted a Meta spokesperson as saying.

Based on that policy, “organizations or individuals that proclaim a violent mission or are engaged in violence” are removed from Meta platforms.

According to IranWire news website, Meta’s recent action was taken in response to the accounts’ explicit support for Iran’s proxy groups in the region, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Many Iranian activists had previously called on Meta and X to disable Khamenei’s accounts over the flagrant violation of human rights in Iran under his rule.

Instagram, X, Facebook, Telegram and many other platforms are not accessible in Iran as a result of the government’s filtering policy.

Since the Iran-backed Hamas militia in Gaza invaded Israel on October 7, Iran's proxies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen have all acted in support of the group, attacking both Israel and US targets since the war broke out.