Twitter has suspended an account used by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after he posted an image showing a Donald Trump-like figure on a golf course apparently being targeted by a missile strike.
The Photoshopped image posted late Thursday on the Iranian leader’s account depicted a figure in red about to hit a golf ball as an ominous shadow fills the bottom half of the picture.
An accompanying text warned that former President Trump faced payback for his order to target top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani with a deadly missile strike on a visit to Baghdad in early 2020. U.S. officials say Soleimani was responsible for attacks by Iranian forces and their allies against American troops throughout the Middle East over the years.
“Revenge is inevitable,” the ayatollah’s tweet warned. “Soleimani’s killer and the man who gave the orders must face vengeance.”
Revenge, the message added, “can take place at any moment.”
There had already been growing pressure on Twitter and other social media platforms to restrict or suspend the Iranian leader’s account, following a number of threatening posts in the past.
The clamor for a suspension grew even louder after Twitter, Facebook and others announced they were blocking Mr. Trump’s accounts over his questioning of the 2020 U.S. presidential election and alleged encouragement of his followers ahead of the violent occupation of the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6.