TEHRAN- Meta's action to remove the Instagram and Facebook accounts of Ayatollah Khamenei is not surprising. This is because we live at a time where 30,000 Palestinian citizens, including 12,000 children, have been killed in a few months, and the global community is just a spectator to this unprecedented and tragic scene.

In such a period and time, the collusion of Israel's allies against voices trying to awaken the world from its slumber is an unethical yet predictable policy. Ayatollah Khamenei has delivered 19 speeches since October 7th (the start of the Gaza war), and almost all of them have addressed the issue of the war on Gaza. One of the main themes of the Leader's position in these speeches has been exposing the crimes of the Israeli regime, its supporters and accomplices, namely Western countries.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is the largest and main supporter of the oppressed people of Palestine in the region. This fundamental policy has been a foreign policy priority since the victory of the Islamic Revolution. This policy has not changed over time. Meanwhile, over the past 45 years, the U.S., as Tel Aviv's main ally, has tried to weaken Iran's determination with various tricks to retreat from this policy.

The U.S. and Israel have been making strenuous efforts to distort Iran's fundamental positions, especially those regarding Ayatollah Khamenei. Accusing Iran of anti-Semitism is one of these tricks. However, the Leader's position on this matter is quite clear. For example, on November 29, 2023, he said: "Some speakers around the world talk about the Islamic Republic's views on the region and spread lies that 'Iran says Jews should be thrown into the sea' - no, others or some Arabs said this before; we never said this; we do not throw anyone into the sea. We say it is the people's opinion; the government formed by the votes of the people of Palestine will decide about the people who are there and have come from other countries." 

To achieve the goal of distortion, one should not allow the audience to receive the voice from its original source. Removing the Persian account with 5 million followers and the English account with 1 million followers is an attempt in this regard. This action was taken against an individual whose account ranks among the top 10 most-followed accounts of world political leaders. This shows that Israel and its Western supporters are afraid of Ayatollah Khamenei’s voice reaching the audience.

 This fear is so great that they are willing to violate all their grand claims, such as "freedom of speech".

Of course, this action by Meta is a piece of a larger puzzle. A puzzle that tries to silence the voices supporting Palestine on social media. But despite the audacity of Silicon Valley in cleansing the blood-stained hands of Israel, public opinion around the world is unprecedentedly supportive of Palestine and against the genocide of Palestinians by the Zionist regime.

An American analyst has said Meta's recent move was intended to prevent Ayatollah Khamenei's "dangerous narratives." Yes! I agree with him that Ayatollah Khamenei's narratives on the issue of Palestine and the Gaza war are indeed dangerous, but only for the criminal regime of Israel and its number one supporter, the U.S.

Meta can restrict and delete brave and vocal users, but the narrative of Palestinian victimhood can never be deleted. They say the most impactful short story in the world was narrated by Augusto Monterroso who says: "When he/she/it woke, the dinosaur was still there." But I believe the most heartbreaking short story in the world unfolded in Gaza a few days ago when a little girl woke up in a hospital bed and asked, "Uncle! Will my legs grow back?"

By Mohammad Sarfi is Editor-in-Chief