Abu Dhabi ( CNN ) -- In a series of blunt tweets over the holiday weekend , Iran 's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei entered America 's debate on race and police violence -- comparing unrest in states like New York and Missouri to conflicts in the Middle East . On Sunday he tweeted : `` # Jesus endured sufferings to oppose tyrants who had put humans in hell in this world & the hereafter while he backed the oppressed . # Ferguson '' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , the country 's chief political and religious authority , acknowledged the role of Jesus in Islamic theology and compared the biblical prophet 's struggle to that of black people in the United States . The tweet included # BlackLivesMatter , a hashtag popularized in recent weeks by supporters of Eric Garner , a 43-year old African-American man that died after being put in a chokehold by a NYPD officer . It read : `` It 's expected that followers of # Jesus follow him in his fight against arrogants and in his support for the oppressed . # BlackLivesMatter '' On Christmas Eve , the Ayatollah lumped the struggle of Palestinians in the Gaza strip with protests in Ferguson , Missouri , where black teenager Michael Brown was shot dead by police , and called on members of all three monotheistic faiths to stand-up against oppression . The tweet said : `` # Jesus like all prophets was herald of monotheism & human dignity ; nowadays humanity needs this message more than ever. # Ferguson # Gaza 1/1/93 '' The unverified Twitter account , widely accepted as the mouthpiece of the Ayatollah 's social media campaign , often posts diatribes against the West and Israel to its more than 91,000 followers . In August of this year , the leader published a poignant image that criticized President Barack Obama 's support for Israel during the country 's military operation to debilitate Hamas , a group many Western nations including the U.S. designate as a terrorist organization . `` US govt has subjugated a great nation w/ massive resources to a criminal regime like # Israel.10/31/12 # Ferguson # Gaza , '' it said . In response , some Twitter users accused the Ayatollah of hypocrisy , and tweeted him with hashtags such as # AllLivesMatter , # GayLivesMatter and # KurdishLivesMatter . Human rights groups and observers regularly criticize the country for its poor record on executions , the treatment of political prisoners , and women . In its 2013 report on Iran , Human Rights Watch said : `` Many civil society activists remained in prison on political charges . Authorities regularly subjected prisoners , especially those convicted on politically motivated charges , to abuse and deprive them of necessary medical treatment . `` Iranian women continued to face discrimination in many areas including personal status matters . Authorities restricted political participation and employment of minority groups , who account for about 10 % of the population . '' 2013 : Iran reaches out on Twitter at Christmas .
Iran 's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei compares U.S. protests to Middle East conflicts . One tweet included # BlackLivesMatter , a hashtag popularized by supporters of Eric Garner .