Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13
By Khalid Kazimov – Trend:
There are a group of hard-line lawmakers in parliament and unfortunately several organizations cooperate with them, a senior Iranian politician said.
Chairman of the Expediency Council of Iran Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani criticized the state broadcaster for airing hard-liners’ remarks and said broadcasting the hard-liners’ remarks encourages them, ILNA news agency reported Dec. 13.
However the majority of the officials and Iranian people have understood that the right path for the country is through the moderation, he added.
He further criticized extremist groups such the Islamic State terrorist group (IS/ISIS/ISIL) and said they damage Islam’s image in the world.
Then he warned against misusing the remarks of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and urged the political groups and parties to refrain from misusing the Supreme Leader’s remarks for their own interests on the pretext of “infiltration”.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has warned against “infiltration” at least twice over the past few months which lead to arrest of several journalists on charges of being in contact with spy and intelligent services overseas. In one of the arrests, the Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian was purportedly sentenced to an unspecified prison term on espionage allegations.
On November 25 Ayatollah Khamenei said infiltration means creating networks among the people in the country aimed at changing ideals, beliefs, values and lifestyles using money and the attraction of the opposite sex.
“Enemy’s infiltration is a very important issue; reality of infiltration cannot be ignored as the enemy is plotting,” the leader said.
Back in October, addressing the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy commanders and staff, Ayatollah Khamenei used the word “infiltration”, describing it as the US officials’ efforts to engage in direct talks with Iranian officials in topics other than nuclear talks.
However Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Nov. 4 warned against misinterpreting the supreme leader’s remarks regarding the "infiltration of foreigners".
The hardliners describe whatever they are displeased with as “infiltration”, Rafsanjani added.
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