The Mashhad Friday Mass Prayers Imam expressed concern over the number of visits to Iran by Western leaders and called the reopening of the British Embassy in Tehran “worrisome”.
Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda said on Friday August 28 that the Iranian administration’s relations with Western leaders are a cause of “fear and anxiety” for the people.
He quoted Iran’s Supreme Leader saying the enmity of Western countries against Iran “cannot be resolved” and is in fact “increasing by the day”.
On Wednesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with members of the administration that they need to remain on guard against the “gradual and complex infiltration of the enemy”. He added that neglecting this threat will result in the sudden realization that “they are engaged in dangerous political, economic and cultural activities”.
The hardliner Friday Imam of Mashhad told worshippers the British Embassy is a “base for the enemy” with “a 100-year history of crimes”.
British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond, who visited Iran this week, told reporters that Iran’s stance against Israel has softened.
Alamolhoda took issue with Hammond’s statement and also questioned the Iranian government’s decision to issue a week-long permit to the BBC so it could cover the British foreign secretary’s trip to Iran.
