After Iranian Leaders Incite ‘Jihad Against Zionists,’ US Lawmakers Demand Twitter Ban

Though Twitter has blocked accounts associated with Hamas and Hezbollah, the social media giant is permitting Iran’s Supreme Leader to openly call for Israel’s destruction.

By United with Israel Staff

Last week, Iranian leaders demanded jihad against Israel and the U.S. on Twitter, a clear violation of the platform’s terms. Following tweets in February by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, four senators joined forces demanding in a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey that the social media site ban these hate-mongering so-called leaders.

The letter, sent last Thursday, was initiated by Senator Ted Cruz and co-signed by Senators Tom Cotton, Marsha Blackburn and Marco Rubio. According to The Jerusalem Post, which received a copy of the letter, the senators said that “blocking Khamenei, Zarif and other regime official accounts would be complying with Executive Order 13876 issued by U.S. President Donald Trump in June 2019.”

“All Americans – including [Dorsey] and Twitter – are prohibited from ‘making any contribution or provision of… goods or services’ to [Khameini and Zarif],” said the letter, referring to Trump’s order.

“While the First Amendment protects the free speech rights of Americans – and Twitter should not be censoring the political speech of Americans – the Ayatollah enjoys zero protection from the United States Bill of Rights,” the letter continued. “And, as the leader of the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism – directly responsible for the murder of hundreds of US citizens – the Ayatollah and any American companies providing him assistance are entirely subject to US sanctions laws.”

This is not the first time Twitter has received complaints from American politicians. Last year, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers complained that it was violating American law by permitting U.S.-designated terrorist groups to post on its social media platform. Twitter acted in November by suspending all Hamas-affiliated accounts and many, but not all, of those associated with Hezbollah.

Tweeting Leads to Terror

Following Iranian regime tweets last week, which included Khameini’s call to “force out the Zionist enemy & the U.S. through jihad,” Palestinians launched a terror wave (including three attacks in 12 hours) that involved a car-ramming that injured a dozen Israeli soldiers, a shooting, an arson attack that destroyed an area in Gush Etzion and rocket attacks on Israeli citizens.

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They will try to further their plot with bribes, weapons & enticements.
What’s the remedy? It is bold #resistance by the Palestinian nation & groups in order to force out the Zionist enemy & the U.S. through #Jihad. All Muslim nations & the world of Islam must support them too.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) February 5, 2020

Iran’s History of Hate

Iran has a history of calling to wipe Israel off the map. These include incidents such as senior Iranian lawmaker Mojtaba Zonnour saying, in an interview with Al-Alam TV, in July, “If America attacks us, Israel will survive for less than half an hour.”

After the U.S.-targeted airstrike that killed Iranian top general and terrorist leader Qassem Soleimani in January, Mohsen Rezaee, a former leader of the  Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said, “Rest assured we will level to the ground Haifa and Israeli centers so that Israel will be wiped out.”

IRGC also said after the attack, “Iran in no way sees the Zionist regime as separate from the criminal US regime.”

Iran’s Fatima Zahra Studio has created a vile video showing Iranian jets avenging Soleimani’s death by bombing Tel Aviv and other Israeli sites.

The Islamic Republic also recently committed to back Palestinian “resistance,” a coded reference to terror attacks on Israelis and their allies.

The day after U.S. President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address last week, Khamenei blasted the president’s “Deal of the Century” and called for Palestinian “jihad.” He said that he “considers it [Iran’s] duty to support Palestinian groups” against the deal and called for “bold resistance by the Palestinian nation and groups to force out the Zionist enemy and the US through jihad, [which] all Muslim nations and the world of Islam must support.”