Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is seen in Tehran, Iran on December 14, 2016.
Reza B AFP | getty images
Iran’s new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has a new “verified” account on X, the influential social media platform owned by Elon Musk.
Khamenei, whose X handle is @rahbarenghelab_A tweetstorm raged on Thursday about a war by the US and Israel against Iran and the Islamic Republic’s response to it.
“Dear combat brothers! The public wishes to continue effective and regret-causing defense. Furthermore, the benefits of blockading the Strait of Hormuz must be continued.” Khamenei wrote in a post He has over 44,000 followers on Instagram. All posts have been translated from Persian by X.
“I assure everyone that we will not stop retaliating The blood of your martyrs,” He wrote in another post.
In addition to talking about the Strait of Hormuz, Khamenei also urged Iran’s neighbors in the Middle East to do the same “Make your stance clear” And for those that host US military bases, to close them.
Khamenei was elected as supreme leader of Iran earlier this week to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an attack on February 28, the first day of the war.
Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project, condemned the fact that Mojtaba Khamenei was allowed to have an X account. TTP had released a report in February It found that Iranian officials, agencies, and government-run media outlets had
“For the past three years, the Tech Transparency Project has repeatedly highlighted how X is profiting by providing premium memberships to US sanctioned entities – many of which are linked to terrorism, in clear violation of US sanctions laws,” Paul told CNBC in an email.
“Now this is happening to the acknowledged leader of a country with which the United States is actively engaged in war,” Paul said.
Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX, which owns X, and artificial intelligence company XAI, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Mojtaba Khamenei’s new account on the social network. The account has a blue check mark reserved for “Premium” users.
– CNBC matt peterson Contributed to this article.