Middle East Briefs: Iraqi president suffers a stroke

One post compared Ayatollah Khamenei to a celebrated ruler of ancient Persia, Cyrus the Great, who significantly expanded the Persian empire 2,500 years ago.

Another wrote: “Mr. Khamenei, how are you visiting this page? With proxy?” It was a reference to Iran’s blocking of Facebook and many other Western social media sites, and the efforts to bypass the restrictions using proxy server links from outside Iran.

The State Department said Monday it will keep tabs on the page, but had no comment on whether it was genuine or not.

Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland joked that Washington is curious how many “likes” it receives.

But much about the page — including an informal photo of Ayatollah Khamenei riding in a car — suggest it was not sanctioned by Iran’s top leader.

• From wire dispatches and staff reports