A monitoring organization has cautioned that the recent verification of Iran's supreme leader's X profile might expose the platform to violations of American sanctions. The Tech Transparency Project, which released a study last month highlighting X's provision of premium features to Iranian officials under sanctions, indicates that the profile for the nation's incoming leader intensifies scrutiny on this matter.
According to the TTP, the X profile associated with Iran's prospective supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, seems to be funding a premium membership even though he has faced US sanctions since 2019. The organization observes that this Iran-originated profile, established earlier this month, displays a blue verification badge, a sign commonly linked to paid subscriptions.
Profiles connected to Iranian state entities, such as the one formerly used by Khamenei's father featuring a gray badge for official government verification, have promoted the younger Khamenei's account. On X, verified profiles receive enhanced prominence and additional benefits. The new profile has attracted over 20,000 followers shortly after the TTP drew attention to it.
In remarks shared with Engadget, TTP director Katie Paul described the incoming leader's profile as another instance of a sanctioned party seemingly purchasing premium access on X. She added that her group has pinpointed numerous such profiles, including those tied to designated terrorist groups, that have subscribed to X premium in the last three years. Paul highlighted the deeper issue of ignoring US sanctions regulations, particularly given Elon Musk's firms' ongoing Pentagon agreements while X earns revenue from American opponents.
Paul pointed out that this marks another occasion where the TTP has questioned X's compliance with US sanctions through its premium offerings. Earlier in 2024, the group issued a report revealing that X had accepted payments for verification from over two dozen sanctioned people and organizations. X responded then by stating it maintains a strong and protected system for its revenue-generating tools.
X has not yet replied to inquiries for comment. Last month, after coverage by Wired, the platform stripped blue badges from several Iran-related profiles identified by the TTP.