X Restores Hebrew Account of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting via video conference with people from East Azarbaijan in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 17, 2022. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA/Handout via Reuters

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Hebrew-language account on the social media platform X has been restored following a brief suspension.

The account was inaccessible to users on Oct. 27. A note read, “X suspends accounts that violate the Rules.” Khamenei had only made two posts to the account since it was created on Sunday.

Just hours before the suspension, Khamenei made a post in Hebrew stating: “The Zionist regime made a mistake, and miscalculated Iran. We will make him understand what strength, ability, initiative, and desire the Iranian nation has.”

The account was subsequently restored on Monday, though it remains unclear what alleged violation prompted the suspension.

X did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. In a similar incident last month, the company said it would allow a post by Khamenei to remain as it “determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Post to remain accessible.” Instead, labeling was used to highlight that the contents of the post, which X owner Elon Musk described as “stoking the fires of hatred,” violated “the X Rules.”

Khamenei created the account just a day after Israel launched strikes on military targets in Iran on Oct. 26, which Israel said were in response to “months of continuous attacks” from the Iranian regime against Israel.

The Iranian military said the Israeli strikes killed four of its soldiers and caused “limited damage” to its radar systems, but did not provide further details, according to multiple reports.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli attacks and said Iran will respond.

Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles into Israel on Oct. 1, though many were intercepted by Israeli missile defenses with assistance from U.S. naval destroyers.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has warned that Iran “should not make the mistake” of responding to Israel’s strikes but instead consider it as the end of the two nations’ exchange.

Austin stated on social media that he had spoken with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, about the strikes and reaffirmed the “ironclad commitment” from the United States to Israel’s security and support for Israel’s right to defend itself.

The Pentagon chief said that he also underscored the potential for using diplomacy “to dial down tensions in the region,” including the possibility of a cease-fire deal in Gaza in exchange for hostage releases and an agreement that would enable civilians on both sides of the Israel–Lebanon border to return to their homes.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, said on Oct. 26 that Israel was asserting its right to defend itself against attacks from multiple fronts by Iran and its regional proxies, including strikes coming from Iranian territory directly.

“Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond. Our defensive and offensive capabilities are fully mobilized,” Hagari said in a video address.

Tensions between Iran and Israel escalated after the Hamas-led attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and about 250 people were taken hostage. Israel launched retaliatory strikes in Gaza later that day. The Gaza Health Ministry, which is under Hamas control, has said that Israel’s military action in Gaza has led to more than 43,000 deaths to date.

Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.