Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
Nuclear deal notwithstanding, Ayatollah Khamenei has warned again of a US attempt to infiltrate Iran and corrupt its population.
Iran’s Supreme leader has alleged again that the United States is using money and sexual blackmail to try to infiltrate the Islamic Republic, and warned Iranians not to fall into the “enemy’s trap.”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) commanders on Wednesday that authorities should take concerns about “infiltration” seriously, and political factions should not use the issue against each other.
“The enemy sets up a network within a nation and inside a country mainly through the two means of money and sexual attractions to change ideals, beliefs and consequently the lifestyle,” he said in comments posted on his website and broadcast on state TV.
Khamenei has repeatedly warned against the “enemy,” the US, and its plot to “weaken religious and political beliefs” in Iran, and has vowed to block it.
Despite the nuclear accord signed between Iran and the US-led world powers in July, Tehran’s leaders have stated time and again they would not seek a broader thawing of relations with the West.
Khamenei’s latest comments appeared to lend support to a recent wave of arrests of pro-Western writers and journalists, which hard-liners in the judiciary and security services have said is necessary to prevent Western infiltration.
Iran has placed 30 journalists behind bars in 2014, making it the second worst jailer of reporters, after China.
The recent arrests of pro-Western writers, journalists and filmmakers are widely seen as part of a backlash by hard-liners in the wake of the nuclear agreement. Hard-liners fear the deal could lead to a broader rapprochement between Tehran and Washington that would undermine and ultimately destroy the Islamic Republic.
Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state, said that “if some are making factional use of this (infiltration), it’s a mistake. But these words should not lead to ignoring and forgetting the main issue of infiltration.”
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