Iran condemns Meta’s removal of Ayatollah Khamenei’s FB, Instagram accounts as ‘violation of freedom of expression’

Iran has condemned the US-based tech giant Meta’s decision to remove the Facebook and Instagram accounts of its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling it a “violation of freedom of expression,” as reported by The Times of Israel on Sunday.

Instagram and Facebook are among the most popular social media platforms for Iranians, but while the government blocks their use, officials in the Islamic Republic have accounts on them.

Meta said last month it had removed Khamenei’s accounts from Facebook and Instagram for having “repeatedly violated” its policy on “dangerous organisations and individuals.”

In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that the move was “not only a violation of freedom of speech, but also an insult to millions of followers of his positions and news.”

“The mottos of freedom of expression by some Western claimants are hollow and showy slogans and a cover for their illegitimate political goals,” he tells the Middle East Eye news outlet in remarks also published by Iran’s foreign ministry.

Khamenei, 84, has been the country’s supreme leader since 1989, a position that gives him the final say in major state policies. He had about five million followers on Instagram, The Times of Israel reported.