Republican Senators urge Twitter to ban accounts of Khamenei, Iranian Foreign Minister

A group of US Republican Senators urged Twitter to suspend the accounts of Iranian Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. The Senators wrote a letter to Twitter Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jack Dorsey to comply with the sanctions announced by US President Donald Trump through his executive order on June 24, 2019.

Senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Marsha Blackburn, and Marco Rubio in a joint letter said that the First Amendment protects the free speech rights of Americans but Khamenei enjoys “zero protection” from the United States Bill of Rights. The Senators said that Khamenei’s account follows less than 10 other accounts including his office's Twitter feeds in Urdu, Arabic, French, Spanish, and Persian, which are “straightforward to identify and locate”.

“Twitter continues to provide Internet-based communication services to Khamenei and Zarif. Twitter is aware of these accounts and their links to the Iranian regime,” the letter read.

Read: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei Lashes Out At Germany, France, & UK

'Subject to US sanctions laws'

Calling Khamenei as the leader of world's leading state sponsor terrorism, the Senator said that Iran’s Supreme Leader and any American companies providing him assistance are entirely subject to US sanctions laws. 

“A Twitter account is a service. We therefore call on you to comply with those sanctions by ceasing the provision of services to Khamenei, Zarif, and any other designated Iranian entity,” requested the Senators.

Read: Twitter Accounts Of Facebook And Messenger Hacked, Multiple Posts Shared

On February 7, an account related to Khamenei tweeted that his Spanish twitter account has been suspended for “no legitimate reason”. Khamenei has repeatedly accused the United States of causing wars and destruction in West Asia called for the end of its “corrupt presence”. The 80-year-old religious leader had said that elected governments won’t accept the presence of the US which has been involved in the destruction and the demolition of infrastructures in the region. 

"They were slapped last night, but such military actions are not enough. The corruptive presence of the US in the West Asian region must be stopped," the Supreme Leader had said during a televised address after Iran attacked US bases in Iraq with dozens of ballistic missiles.

Read: "Test," Posts Twitter After Going Down For 20 Minutes; Users Have A Field Day

Read: At 40 Million, THIS Actor Becomes The Most Followed On Twitter After Prime Minister Modi

(With Agency Inputs)