Iran's Attorney General: Security Forces Should Be Aware of Enemy Infiltration

On Thursday, August 10, Iran's Attorney General warned against what he termed 'enemy infiltration among the forces' and called for 'vigilance among security forces' regarding this issue. According to the state news agency IRNA, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri stated that 'the enemy is seriously planning to infiltrate among the forces' and added that 'this danger must be taken seriously and preventing it requires the vigilance of officials and security forces.' He did not, however, provide details on how this 'planning' is being carried out. Mehdi Mahdavi Azad, a journalist and political analyst residing in Germany, commented on the Attorney General's statements in an interview with Radio Farda, saying that these remarks 'do not express anything new and continue the same political and propaganda strategy of the regime's leadership that has been pursued since the events of 2009.' He added: 'The main goal is for the governing institutions, from the Revolutionary Guards to state media, Friday prayer leaders, and the judiciary, to remain united around a common agenda and have the necessary pretext to deal with critics and maintain the existing security atmosphere.' In another part of his speech delivered in the city of Gorgan, the Attorney General stated that 'the security of Iran' in a situation where 'the fire of war surrounds the country on all sides' is 'unacceptable to the enemy,' and for this reason, 'it does not refrain from any conspiracy' against the Islamic Republic. Mohammad Jafar Montazeri urged 'soldiers and security forces' to be 'awake and vigilant' and to 'constantly monitor conspiracies against the country.' He cited the approval of sanctions against Iran and 'propaganda under the guise of human rights' as examples of these 'conspiracies.' Mehdi Mahdavi Azad pointed out that the pressure on the judiciary in this regard is 'crippling,' stating: 'The U.S. Congress has approved new sanctions, and European countries, the United Nations, international organizations, and even Canada and Australia support these sanctions. The majority of the people, including the government and reformists, oppose the judiciary's performance. Even hardliners like Ahmadinejad and his allies criticize it sharply.' This journalist added: 'Unfortunately, the heads of the judiciary have resorted to deflection in this regard and instead of accepting responsibility for their actions, they try to present their current isolation as a product of American conspiracies. Instead of accepting criticisms and reforming their political performance, they prefer to hide behind revolutionary slogans. It is true that the Trump administration seeks to exploit the human rights situation in Iran for its benefit; however, the current loneliness and isolation of Iran's judicial leaders is a result of their own actions, not, for instance, the efforts of the U.S. Congress.' Previously, officials of the Islamic Republic, especially judicial officials, have repeatedly accused human rights organizations of bias, claiming that they are tools of the enemy for interfering in Iran's internal affairs; accusations that have been denied by these organizations. Following the remarks of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, regarding the 'enemy's' efforts to 'infiltrate elites, influential individuals, decision-makers, and decision-takers,' military personnel, political figures, and clerics close to him have repeatedly warned about this issue. The leader of the Islamic Republic stated in August 2015, shortly after the signing of the JCPOA agreement, that American officials intended to 'find a way to infiltrate' Iran through this agreement and 'we will decisively close this path.' He also said in a speech on November 24 last year: 'One of the enemy's plans is infiltration. I have been talking about infiltration for about a year or more. We must be afraid of infiltration; we must be careful.' Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, also emphasized on June 14 this year the 'necessity of greater vigilance' among security forces and judges of the judiciary for 'tracking enemy infiltration,' stating: 'The danger of infiltration has intensified in recent times, and all related agencies must monitor various aspects of this infiltration.' Ali Saeedi, Khamenei's representative in the Revolutionary Guards, has also repeatedly warned about the issue of 'infiltration' and described the 'interaction' envisioned by Hassan Rouhani with the world as 'a tool for American infiltration.' On July 2, he criticized Rouhani's foreign policy regarding the JCPOA, saying: 'It has become clear that their {the U.S.} goals go beyond nuclear issues, and when they could not achieve their goals, they returned to the starting point, we have given credit and received debt.' The representative of the Supreme Leader also claimed without providing evidence that the U.S. has 'three programs to support Western-oriented and Western-believing elements, condition the public opinion of the people, and strengthen the current of technocrats inclined toward the West.' These criticisms have led to negative reactions from Hassan Rouhani and his government officials.