Meta confirmed on Thursday that it had banned Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, from its Facebook and Instagram platforms, as relations between the United States and Iran became strained amid the war in Gaza.
“We removed these accounts for repeatedly violating our policies on dangerous organizations and individuals
,” a Meta spokesperson said.
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The supreme leader in power in Iran for almost 35 years had 5 million followers on Instagram.
The social network, like Facebook, is banned in Iran, but nevertheless remains used thanks to
“VPNs”
(virtual private networks) which make it possible to circumvent censorship.
Moderating content related to this country is a headache for Meta, between pressure from human rights NGOs and that of the authorities.
In June 2022, several American and English associations noted that Instagram was
"the main communication network in Iran due to its status as the last uncensored social media in the country"
, nevertheless believing that it suffered
from "a lack of trust and transparency on its moderation practices”
among Persian-speaking users.
In early 2023, Meta's supervisory board (independent but financed by the group) asked the social network to authorize a publication containing the message
"death to Khamenei"
, which had been withdrawn, citing
"the responsibilities (of Meta) in matters of human rights
.
A region at risk of conflagration
According to the council,
““marg bar Khamenei” (death to Khamenei in Farsi, editor’s note) must be understood as down.
This is a rhetorical and political slogan, not a credible threat
.
Since the start of the conflict in Gaza, triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7, relations between the allies of the two camps have become even more tense than before.
Tehran claims that the actors of
the “axis of resistance”
, made up of Tehran’s allies in its fight against Israel, act independently of Iran, contrary to what American or Israeli officials in particular assert.
Among them, Yemeni Houthi rebels are increasing attacks on commercial boats in the Red Sea in
“solidarity”
with the Palestinians.
In retaliation, the United States and the United Kingdom targeted 30 military sites held by the Houthis, strikes condemned by Tehran.
In mid-January, Iran launched missiles in Iraq and Syria, without targeting American interests to avoid a regional escalation.
The Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, were responding to a deadly suicide attack in early January in Iran and the recent liquidations of several of their commanders.