Alamolhoda: The EU Representation Office in Iran is a Spy House

Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, has described the European Union representation office as a "second spy house" and a "mechanism and factory of infiltration," opposing its establishment in Iran. According to Tasnim News Agency, Mr. Alamolhoda expressed regret over the EU's efforts to establish a representation office in Iran during this week's Friday prayers in Mashhad, attacking some European countries. He stated that some within Iran are "excited about this European decision and are announcing it," while "three European countries have sent their security experts and elements as ambassadors to Iran to have an infiltrating agent in our country." Alamolhoda added that "some of our elites lack the insight of the Hezbollah youth" and that "unfortunately, some of those in top positions among our political elites hold dual citizenship." The Friday prayer leader of Mashhad considered the proposal to establish the European office in Tehran as a result of a document prepared after the "JCPOA" agreement to regulate EU relations with Iran. He stated that this document contained several articles, including FATF and guarantees for the security of Europe’s oil and gas by Iran, and the third article being "non-interference" with dual citizens. This conservative cleric further announced that according to Ali Khamenei's directive, "dual citizens are to be removed from responsibilities." According to Alamolhoda, "the fourth article of this document is the non-support of the resistance axis in the region, especially Hezbollah, and the fifth article limits missile activities and then assists in resolving the Syrian crisis based on American interests." He stated that the seventh article of this document is "holding elections without the Guardian Council filter," and the ninth article relates to "the freedom of European spies in Tehran and then that the judiciary under the leadership must be removed." Alamolhoda added that the West intends to establish an office in Tehran to implement these articles, but the judiciary has stood against it and has not allowed its establishment. A group of conservatives and supporters of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic refer to the "JCPOA" agreement, managers with dual citizenship, and the EU's efforts to establish a representation office in Tehran as grounds, factors, and openings for "infiltration" in the Islamic Republic. This group of conservatives, who have criticized the "JCPOA" and dual citizenship managers in recent years, has recently opposed the potential establishment of the EU office in Iran. Abolhassan Mahdavi, the interim Friday prayer leader of Isfahan, also referred to other clauses of this document or statement in this week's Friday prayers, stating that its content is "entirely an insult to the Iranian nation." Mahdavi added that such a statement has no response, and "the Europeans have a memory of the hostage crisis, and if they think they can establish a second spy house with this office, they are gravely mistaken." He stated, "If in the early revolution, Imam Khomeini's students with their revolutionary spirit seized the U.S. embassy, today our youth will not allow a second spy house to be established." Hassan Ameli, the representative of the Supreme Leader in Ardabil province, also described the establishment of the EU office in Tehran as a "clear example of the revival of the U.S. spy house." Ameli also introduced the EU's strategic document regarding Iran as an "interventionist and greedy" document, stating that "this document is akin to a capitulation of the advanced kind." Ahmad Miramadi, the Friday prayer leader of Lorestan, also stated that "America and Europe must know that the Iranian nation will not allow the establishment of a spy house and a center for sowing discord within the country." Last week, several Friday prayer leaders in various cities of Iran protested against the potential opening of the EU office in Tehran and launched sharp attacks against some Western countries. Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari, the Friday prayer leader of Tabriz, stated that the EU office in Iran will eventually turn into a "house of corruption and espionage." Asadollah Imani, the Friday prayer leader of Shiraz, also referred to the opening of the EU office as a "great danger threatening society." These statements and oppositions come at a time when the Iranian Foreign Ministry recently announced that the EU has sent two representatives to the Dutch embassy in Tehran to carry out the steps for opening the EU office. Earlier, Mohammad Javad Larijani, the Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Iranian Judiciary, also stated that the Iranian judiciary would not allow such a thing. In this context, Takht-Ravanchi: The EU office in Tehran will open in a few months, Mohammad Javad Larijani: The judiciary will not allow the EU to establish an office, the Foreign Ministry: We cannot predict a timeline for the establishment of the EU office, the Secretary of the Commission of the Parliament: The EU's human rights office is contrary to governing principles, Iran's insistence on "red lines" such as retribution in negotiations with Europe, Motahari: Some of Europe's criticisms of human rights in Iran are correct.