Instagram is removing posts supportive of slain Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in order to comply with US sanctions imposed upon the Middle Eastern country.

A spokesperson from Instagram's parent company, Facebook, confirmed the news to CNN Business on Friday - the same day that President Trump announced additional sanctions on Iran's manufacturing, mining and textile sectors.

The new sanctions come in retaliation for the country's missile attack on American forces earlier this week.

Iran's attack was itself an act of retaliation which was ordered after Trump approved a drone strike that took out Soleimani on January 3. The President claimed Soleimani was planning imminent attacks on multiple US embassies.

Instagram is one of the few social media platforms available to Iranian citizens, with Twitter and Facebook blocked by the government.

The social media company's decision to block pro Soleimani postings has outraged officials.

Ironically, Iranian government spokesperson, Ali Rabiei, used Twitter to describe the move as 'undemocratic'.

Instagram is removing posts supportive of slain Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in order to comply with US sanctions imposed upon the Middle Eastern country

The United States has imposed heavy sanctions on Iran, and Instagram says it is simply following US law. General Soleimani is pictured left, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Instagram's parent company Facebook, is pictured right

'In an undemocratic and unashmed action, Instagram has blocked an innocence nations' voice protesting to the assassination of General Soleimani, while the real terrorists have been given an open voice,' he wrote.

Iranian soccer star Alireza Jahanbakhsh shared a photo of Soleimani with his 1.4 million followers following the General's death. The post was one of thousands of pro-Soleimani posts which have been scrubbed from the site.

According to CNN, 'Instagram suspended Soleimani's account last April after the US government designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a foreign terrorist organization'. Soleimani was an IRGC commander.

Instagram is one of the few social media platforms available to Iranian citizens, and is very popular. An Iranian woman is pictured glued to her smart phone

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have spiked since Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal struck by his predecessor Barack Obama and began reimposing sanctions that had been eased under the accord.

Those US sanctions have driven down Iranian crude sales, the Islamic Republic's main source of revenues, but so far have not brought Iran back to the negotiating table to discuss a new nuclear pact as sought by Trump.

The United States has also sanctioned Iran's purchase of US dollars, its trade in gold and precious metals and its dealings with metals, coal and industrial-related software.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaking alongside Pompeo at a White House news conference, said Washington would impose further sanctions if needed.

'We will continue to apply economic sanctions until Iran stops its terrorist activities and commits that it will never have nuclear weapons,' he said.