KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 9): Meta Platforms, which owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp has removed Instagram accounts belonging to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday following months of pressure from pro-Israel groups.

In a report on Thursday, UK-based news website Middle East Eye (MEE) said Khamenei's Persian-language account had more than 5.1 million followers, while his English-language account had more than 204,000.

The website quoted a Meta spokesperson as saying the accounts were removed for repeatedly violating its dangerous organisations and individuals policy.

Under the policy, Meta removes "organisations or individuals that proclaim a violent mission or are engaged in violence" from its platforms.

There have been repeated calls from Iranian opposition and pro-Israel campaigners to ban Khamenei's social media accounts, particularly in the wake of the 7 October Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel.

MEE said that although both Iran and the US have denied the Islamic Republic had any involvement in the attacks, Khamenei has been accused of praising the incident — which left around 1,140 people dead — on social media.

He has also publicly supported Palestinian resistance against Israel's bombardment of Gaza as well as attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Khamenei, who has been in power since the death of his predecessor Ruhollah Khomenei in 1989, previously had his Instagram accounts suspended in 2019, but they were later restored.

Meta was previously caught up in controversy in 2023 over the Iranian ruler, after it said it would be allowing the popular anti-government slogan "Death to Khamenei" to be posted on its platforms.

The move came in the wake of mass protests across Iran over the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini following her arrest for "inappropriate hijab".