Twitter has suspended the account of Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh because it violated the website’s rules against impersonation, the company said, according to Bloomberg.
An official at Iran’s oil ministry, who asked not to be named because they’re not authorized to speak to the media, said earlier on Sunday that the suspension appeared to be linked to sanctions. Zanganeh was personally sanctioned by the US on Oct. 26.
“The account was suspended for violation of the Twitter rules against impersonation,” a spokesperson for the social media company said in an email, without giving any more details.
According to Twitter’s website “accounts that pose as another person, brand, or organization in a confusing or deceptive manner may be permanently suspended under Twitter’s impersonation policy”.
Iran’s oil ministry didn’t immediately reply to messages seeking comment on Twitter’s statement. The oil ministry’s own official news service, Shana, has also reported on the suspension and refers to the account as belonging to Zanganeh.
Links to tweets previously published under Zanganeh’s handle say “this tweet is from a suspended account”.
