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

Social platform

The account was suspended early Monday morning with a brief note attached that read: “X suspends accounts that violate X Rules.” It was not immediately clear what the violation was. The social media company owned by Elon Musk 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 without asking for retaliation.

Account

Khamenei’s office has maintained multiple accounts of the 85-year-old supreme leader on X for years and has sent messages in a variety of languages ​​in the past.

A second message corresponded to a speech Khamenei gave on Sunday and was posted on his English account as: “The Zionists are making a miscalculation regarding Iran. They don’t know Iran. “They have not yet been able to properly 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 been suspended or removed from social media. In February, Meta removed the supreme leader’s Facebook and Instagram accounts over his support for the militant group Hamas after its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Social media platforms like 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:

UN Security Council schedules emergency meeting at Iran’s request

UNITED NATIONS – The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Monday afternoon at the request of Iran over Israel’s airstrikes against the country.

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

Iranian president vows to respond ‘appropriately’ to Israeli attacks

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

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

Pezeshkian also said the United States had promised Iran to stop the war in Gaza and Lebanon if Iran held back. “They had promised to end the war in response to our restraint, but they did not keep their word,” he said.

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

Iran says civilian killed in Israeli attack

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Iran announced Sunday that a civilian had been killed in Israel’s attack on the country, without offering any details about the circumstances of his death.

The state news agency IRNA identified the dead man as Allahverdi Rahimpour and said he lived in a suburban area southwest of Tehran.

Although he did not offer details about what he was doing or where he was killed, IRNA insisted that he was not a member of Iran’s armed forces.

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