X suspends Iran supreme leader Khamenei’s account amid rising tensions

Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) recently suspended an account belonging to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, according to the Jerusalem Post. The 85-year-old leader’s account was blocked after just two posts, one of which was in Hebrew, reading, "In the name of Allah, the most merciful." Khamenei also shared this message on his official English-language account, Khamenei.ir, which is verified and followed by over one million users.

In response, ZAKA, an Israeli volunteer emergency response organization, commented on the post using a line from the Jewish Kaddish prayer for the dead. The suspension follows an Israeli airstrike on Iranian targets on Saturday, which struck missile manufacturing sites and aerial defense installations. Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) confirmed that four Iranian soldiers, including one civilian, were killed in the attack.

Following the strikes, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian stated, “We do not seek war, but we will defend our country and our people’s rights.” In a separate statement, Ayatollah Khamenei called for a global coalition to oppose what he described as Israel’s brutal actions, suggesting political, economic, and potentially military alliances against the “Zionist regime."