DUBAi: Facebook- banned in Iran due to its use by activists to rally government opponents in 2009- has an unlikely new member: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Launched a few days ago, the Facebook page “Khamenei.ir” displays photographs of the 73-year-old cleric alongside speeches and pronouncements by the man who wields ultimate power in the Islamic Republic.
While there are several other Facebook pages already devoted to Khamenei, the new one - whose number of “likes” quadrupled yesterday to over 1,000 - appeared to be officially authorised, rather than merely the work of admirers. The page has been publicised by a Twitter account of the same name that Iran experts believe is run by Khamenei’s office. Both US-based social media sites are blocked in Iran by a wide-reaching government censor but they are still commonly used by millions of Iranians who use special software to get around the ban.
In 2009, social media were a vital tool for those Iranians who believed the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was rigged. Reuters
