SAN FRANCISCO: Meta on Thursday said it had removed the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for violating its content policy.

“We have removed these accounts for repeatedly violating our Dangerous Organizations & Individuals policy,” a Meta spokesperson told AFP.

Though Meta did not mention the Israel-Hamas war, the company has been under pressure to ban the leader ever since the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.

After the attack, Khamenei supported the bloody rampage by Hamas, but denied any Iranian involvement.

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

Khamenei, in power in Iran for 35 years, has five million followers on Instagram.