Twitter bans account linked to Iranian leader for video threatening Trump

Twitter said on Saturday it had permanently suspended an account linked to Iran’s supreme leader who posted a video calling for revenge for the assassination of a top general against former US President Donald Trump.

“The referenced account has been permanently suspended for violating our getaway policy,” a Twitter spokesperson told AFP.

The account, @KhameneiSite, posted an animated video this week showing an unmanned aircraft targeting Trump, who ordered a drone strike in Baghdad two years ago that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.

Major accounts of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in various languages ​​remain active. Last year, another similar account was suspended by Twitter for a post that also appeared to refer to revenge against Trump.

The recent video, titled “Revenge is Definite,” was also posted on Khamenei’s official website.

According to Twitter, the company’s top priority is keeping people safe and protecting the health of conversation on the platform.

The social media giant says it has clear policies regarding abusive behavior and will take action when violations are identified.

As head of the Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Soleimani was the architect of its strategy in the Middle East.

He and his Iraqi lieutenant were killed by a US drone strike outside Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020.

Khamenei has repeatedly promised to avenge his death.

On January 3, the second anniversary of the strike, ultraconservative Supreme Leader and President Ebrahim Raisi again threatened the United States with revenge.

Trump supporters regularly decry the Republican billionaire’s ban from Twitter, pointing out that the accounts of several leaders deemed authoritarian by the United States are allowed to post on the platform.

fff / vgr / sw / kir