Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the U.S. was attempting to infiltrate Iran using “money and sexual attractions,” the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Revolutionary Guard commanders 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’s frequent warnings that the U.S. government is seeking to overthrow Iran’s regime are often repeated by Iranian leaders. Before Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian was sentenced for espionage, senior Iranian politician Javad Karimi-Qoddusi accused him of sharing information with American officials, and declared that any “rapprochement” with the U.S. would lead to the Iranian government being “toppled within 48 months.”
Khamenei continued espousing stringently anti-American positions even after negotiators reached a nuclear agreement in July. Last week, he accused the U.S. of orchestrating the recent terror attacks in Paris. Earlier this month, he ordered Iranian authorities to block the importation of American goods. In September, he said that Iran would defeat the U.S. in the event of a war. Shortly after the nuclear agreement was announced, he tweeted an image of President Barack Obama with a gun to his head, threatening the “aggressive and criminal U.S.”