Tehran, Iran – An Instagram account associated with a powerful general who leads an elite unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard briefly was inaccessible on the application.
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The account featuring images of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who heads the elite Quds Force focusing on foreign operations, was inaccessible Wednesday, then later restored.
It’s unclear whether the account, followed by some 300,000 users, is managed on Soleimani’s behalf. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency described it as belonging to him. A website associated with Iranian state television also reported on the account’s disappearance.
Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On May 16, Iranian police announced the arrest of eight people in an operation targeting Instagram and social media users, including female models who posed with their hair uncovered.