Iran’s Intelligence Minister says a full-blown and multifaceted war is being waged against the Islamic Republic, and the “enemy” is now taking a new approach.
ISNA reports that Heydar Moslehi spoke to the Islamic Culture and Communications Organization, saying: “From the point of view of the Islamic Republic a full-fledged war from every aspect is being waged against the Islamic Republic, and the widespread plans of the enemy on every front against the Islamic Republic have resulted in threats and vulnerabilities that have created opportunities for them to act on.”
He referred to the “complicated nature of the soft war” against the Islamic Republic, saying: “The soft war silently wages war on the domestic front. It is persistent and has several aims. “
He added that the soft war keeps finding sympathizers while also “creating conflicts and discouragement.”
Moslehi maintained that the threats against the Islamic Republic have changed, adding: “We must identify these threats and be familiar with the nature of the threats against the regime.”
He described the spread of social networks on the internet as a “new threat.” He maintained that internet services are designed to extract information from users.
Iran has announced that it is developing a domestic internet that would not provide access to sites deemed to be inappropriate or indecent.
Moslehi also referred to the coming parliamentary elections, saying that “certain political currents as well as seditious and anti-Revolutionary elements are trying to take advantage of the elections.”
He claimed their objective is to “make the elections security laden”, “limit participation of the people in the elections”, “take over the Parliament” and “make the Islamic Republic model seem inefficient.”
Several groups, including the reformists, have called for a boycott of the elections because the government has refused to release political prisoners, in particular the opposition leaders MirHosein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard and Mehdi Karroubi, who are being held under house arrest.
The reformists maintain that the elections cannot be transparent in the current political situation.
