Facebook and many other social media websites have been blocked in Iran since they were famously used as tools to organize popular anti-government dissent. Despite this, and even as the country prepares to sever ties with the global Internet, Facebook still gets visits from millions of Iranians who use proxies to access the site.
And Friday, Facebook got one more Iranian user: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei's Facebook page features photos of the Supreme Leader and advertises "regular updates and news about Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei." It has 1,500 likes as of Monday morning.
The page is connected with Khameni.ir, a multi-language website, as well as a Twitter account and an Instagram account all featuring content aimed more at the outside world than at Iranians. That seems to be the strategy behind Khamenei's overall online presence: spreading a message to the rest of the world.
Given that, it's strange his accounts have such a minor following -- if someone as high-profile as the Supreme Leader was indeed on Twitter and Facebook, one would expect those accounts to have a sizable audience.
These pages could be run by devotees of Khamenei that aren't actually his staff. However, expert Iran-watchers told Reuters that they believe the website and accounts are indeed run by Khamenei's office, but it's difficult to know for sure.
Do you think Khamenei's staff is running these accounts? Share your thoughts in the comments.