Overview

• In 2013 tweets, Khamenei urged men to understand women’s needs and warned against neglecting their emotional well-being.
• He described himself as an avid reader with a preference for poetry and novels over cinema and shared a childhood anecdote about being "naughty and playful" in clerical robes.
• Users on X have mocked the supreme leader with memes and nicknames such as "Wifeguyatollah," highlighting the dissonance with his current anti-Israel messaging.
• The resurfacing of these posts coincided with the latest Israel-Iran military exchanges, which began with Israeli airstrikes on Iranian facilities on June 13 and Iranian missile barrages in response.
• Observers point to a stark contrast between his online persona and his regime’s record of strict women’s dress codes, suppression of protests and human rights abuses.