Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian lambasted Meta’s decision to remove Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s accounts from Instagram and Facebook.

"Blocking the media accounts of the supreme leader of the revolution is not only a violation of freedom of speech but also an insult to millions of followers of his views," he told Middle East Eye news website on Friday.

Hailing Khamenei as “the most prominent supporter of the oppressed people of Palestine and Gaza,” Iran’s top diplomat attributed Meta’s suspension of the Supreme Leader’s pages in February to a larger campaign allegedly aimed at oppressing pro-Palestinian voices on social media.

The criticism contradicts Iran's own extensive censorship of the internet and social media for more than two decades. Most najor social media platforms and tens of thousands of websites are blocked in Iran.

Amir-Abdollahian denounced the West’s motto of freedom of expression as “hollow and showy,” further adding that it serves as a cover for what he called the West’s “illegitimate political goals.”

The Iranian regime has been a staunch supporter of Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas which invaded Israel on October 7 in what was the most deadly single day for Jews since the Holocaust. The attack killed 1,200 mostly civilians and saw 240 taken hostage to Gaza.

Both Iranian dissidents and pro-Israeli activists have for long urged social media companies to shut down Khamenei’s accounts over restricting access to the Interment inside Iran and also his anti-Semitic remarks and policies.

Welcoming Meta’s move, many Iranian social media users urged Elon Musk to follow suit and deactivate Khamenei’s accounts on X.

In January, Samara Azzi, a Lebanese commentator, warned of coordinated operations of an Iran-backed “cyber army” to silence anti-Hamas and anti-Hezbollah voices on X.

The pro-Iranian cyber army is “gaming the platform’s limited moderation controls in English and especially Arabic to suppress criticism and amplify their own narrative,” she said.