Khamenei's Advice to Those Accustomed to Traveling Abroad

The leader of the Islamic Republic criticized the 'habit' of foreign travel, pointing to the 'enemy's conspiracy' to impose 'economic pressure' on the Iranian people and to 'tire and demoralize' them. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made an exception for pilgrimage trips, stating that they do not impose much cost on the country. According to the state news agency IRNA, on Friday, June 25, during the Eid al-Fitr Friday prayer, Khamenei referred to the 'economic pressure' as the 'main conspiracy of the enemy' and stated that the aim of this action is to 'tire and demoralize the people.' He also criticized the 'repetition of enemy rhetoric by some media and individuals within the country.' Referring to the government-organized Quds Day rally in Iran, he said that the Iranian nation is 'not tired and demoralized; those who claim fatigue and lack of enthusiasm among the people, following the propaganda of the enemies, are... themselves tired and demoralized.' On Tuesday, June 14, the Supreme Leader had also stated that 'enemies are applying three types of economic, psychological, and practical pressure' on the Islamic Republic, and that they want to 'exhaust the Iranian nation through economic pressure and sanctions.' He also claimed that the 'exploitation' of popular protests and 'creating chaos' in Iran is the 'definite plan of the enemies.' Before the Supreme Leader, the head and spokesperson of the judiciary warned about the 'exploitation' of American and Israeli forces from sectoral and economic protests, threatening that security agencies would deal with 'lawbreakers' and protests that 'disturb the security of the country.' Some analysts speculate that following the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and the return of sanctions against Iran in the coming months, the country's economic situation may experience a shock, leading to widespread protests. Meanwhile, the Supreme Leader announced that 'a central hub with the presence of the heads of the three branches and main activists of the powers has been formed to address economic issues, which must follow economic matters step by step, make decisive decisions, and implement them.' On Friday, he also called for 'avoiding extravagance and excess' and added that 'one of the habits that is prevalent among some people and should be abandoned is unnecessary recreational trips abroad.' Khamenei also called for preventing the import of foreign goods and, on the other hand, directing liquidity towards production. Following the currency crisis in Iran, officials, including Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesperson, have called for a reduction in foreign travel by the people, a request that has received negative reactions from the public on social media. The number of foreign trips by Iranians, including pilgrimage trips in recent years, has been around ten million, of which two million are related to pilgrimage trips to Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Additionally, according to official statistics, about two and a half million Iranians travel to Turkey annually. The Turkish Hoteliers Association reported more than 2.5 million people in 2017. However, part of the foreign trips is related to government managers and employees, whose statistics are not disclosed, and no reports have been published regarding a decrease in these trips following the currency crisis in Iran. On Friday, the Supreme Leader also criticized the 'prevalent phenomenon of insult and accusation against each other in cyberspace,' stating that such actions 'harm the public space of the country and national unity.' Nevertheless, during the Eid al-Fitr ceremony, like in previous years, Meysam Motiei, a eulogist close to the Supreme Leader's office, severely criticized Hassan Rouhani and the JCPOA. In his poem, he said: 'They said that the signature of such and such is a guarantee / Neither such and such remained nor its signature, this is the truth / What remains of that uproar except its name? / A body remains from the JCPOA and from its spirit and body / The smell of its decay is also loud / If European perfumes allow / European perfumes are ineffective / They have nothing but confusing benefits.' Last year's Eid al-Fitr ceremony also featured Meysam Motiei's criticism of Hassan Rouhani, which made headlines. In this regard, Majid Ansari, the legal deputy of the President, called for an apology from the Tehran Friday Prayer Headquarters due to this eulogist's remarks, but Mohammad Baqer Pishnamazi, the head of this headquarters, called the eulogist's poem 'the voice of the people.' Subsequently, the website of the Supreme Leader's office reported that Ayatollah Khamenei supported this poem, stating, 'You said a completely correct and firm word. Do not doubt it. Your work was completely correct.' This critical poem by Meysam Motiei was also fully published on the Supreme Leader's website this year.