Elon Musk-owned X has removed a blue checkmark from the account of Iran’s new supreme leader, who appeared to have paid for the perk in spite of US sanctions against him.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of slain leader Ali Khamenei, launched an English-language X account that had about 175,000 followers as of Tuesday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, the English account displayed a the blue checkmark indicating that a subscription for X Premium had been paid for. That’s despite X’s own policy barring sanctioned people like Khamenei from buying premium accounts.
The symbol was gone by about noon Eastern Time — after The Post sought comment from X. The company did not immediately reply.
Khamenei, 56, is believed to be alive but injured following the late-February strikes that killed his father, with intelligence assessments suggesting he has not appeared in public and may not be exercising full control over Iran’s leadership.
While Iranian officials insist he is “stable,” the lack of verified appearances has fueled speculation about his condition, with some reports suggesting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is effectively steering decision-making as questions linger over his health.
A premium X account can unlock revenue-generating features — including ad-sharing payouts, paid subscriptions and tips — raising the prospect that Khamenei could have been able to profit from his account.
Along with sanctioned individuals, X’s monetization rules explicitly bar users in Iran from cashing in on the platform. Under the company’s Creator Revenue Sharing terms, people “located in, or a citizen of, or ordinarily resident in” Iran cannot participate in the payout program. People in North Korea, Syria and Russian-occupied Crimea in Ukraine are also blocked under the company’s policy.
Khamenei’s X posts have struck a hardline, bellicose tone — praising Iran’s “Resistance Front,” vowing retaliation against enemies and urging continued attacks on US forces and allies in the region. He repeatedly framed the conflict as a religious and national duty, calling for unity at home while warning that Iran will “take” compensation from its enemies or “destroy” their assets.
Several posts also referenced escalating pressure points — including threats tied to the Strait of Hormuz and US bases — while blending militant rhetoric with religious tributes to his slain father and revolutionary leaders.
“The leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz must definitely continue to be employed,” one of the posts on Khamenei’s account read
Khamenei’s X account was created in March and its administrator is based in Iran.
The ruler has been on the Treasury Department’s sanctions blacklist since 2019 — deemed a “Specially Designated National,” meaning US companies are broadly barred from doing business with him.
He took power earlier this month after Iran’s influential Assembly of Experts, a clerical body made up of senior Islamic scholars, swiftly elevated him to supreme leader in the middle of a widening regional war.
His ascent came just days after his father, longtime ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a US strike on Feb. 28 — triggering a sudden leadership vacuum at the top of the Islamic Republic.
Iran briefly installed an interim leadership structure as officials scrambled to stabilize the regime before clerics moved quickly to formalize Mojtaba’s grip on power.
Khamenei — long seen as a behind-the-scenes power broker with deep ties to Iran’s security establishment — emerged as the frontrunner, signaling continuity of the regime’s hardline rule even as the country faces mounting external pressure.
Watchdogs have repeatedly identified X Premium accounts tied to US-sanctioned extremists — including figures linked to Hezbollah, Hamas-aligned media outlets and Iran-backed militia groups.
Last month, the Tech Transparency Project found over two dozen X accounts allegedly run by Iranian sources including government officials with blue checkmarks. Symbols from some accounts were removed after online news site Wired made inquiries.
In a 2025 report, researchers found accounts tied to Houthi leaders in Yemen and Iraqi militia commanders — groups accused of carrying out attacks on US forces — displaying blue checkmarks and using premium features like long-form video and extended posts.
Earlier findings also flagged accounts connected to al-Qaida-linked operatives and Hezbollah financiers that appeared to be “ID verified,” meaning the platform confirmed their identities through government-issued documents.
Some of the sanctioned accounts went even further — tapping monetization tools such as subscription features and tips, raising the prospect that extremists could generate revenue directly from the platform.
The Tech Transparency Project has documented a pattern in which X removes verification badges after scrutiny — only for some accounts to later reappear or regain premium status, underscoring what critics say is inconsistent enforcement of its own rules.
Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project, warned that the issue goes far beyond a simple policy lapse.
“The fact that X has continued to allow sanctioned individuals to pay for premium subscription benefits is not just a potential violation of US Treasury sanctions, it’s a national security issue,” Paul told The Post.
She noted that Mojtaba Khamenei is not just any sanctioned figure — but the leader of a country currently locked in conflict with the US.
She also pointed to broader concerns tied to Musk’s business empire, noting that X’s parent company has US government ties.
“Concerningly, Elon Musk’s xAI, which acquired X in 2025, has a defense contract with the Pentagon, raising further concerns about sanctions violations from a company that is engaged with US government contracts,” she said.
