Overview

• Archivists on X have shared multiple tweets from 2013 in which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered relationship advice, musings on literature, and childhood anecdotes.
• Users have lampooned these SMS-style posts, dubbing him ‘Chad Ayatollah’ or a ‘marriage counsellor’ after tweets urging men to nurture wives’ emotional needs.
• Critics point to the contradiction between tweets that describe women as ‘flowers’ and Iran’s enforcement of hijab laws and the morality police’s role in the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini.
• Analysts note that many of the personal tweets likely draw on Khamenei’s speeches and may have been curated by his staffers.
• The resurfacing coincides with heightened Israel-Iran tensions and renewed scrutiny of Khamenei’s domestic repression and regional influence.