Responding to the recent comments by U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson in support of opposition within Iran to the regime, the head of Iran’s judiciary, Sadiq Amoli Larijani lashed out and called dissenters “warriors against God” and such tactics “interventionism.”
“Those who give the enemy the green light from inside Iran are warriors against God and corruptors on Earth,” said Larijani on June 19. “Such comments are interventionism. Security, IRGC and Intelligence Ministry forces should be vigilant to see who is giving the enemy the green light from inside Iran.”
According to Iran law, “war against God” and ‘corruption on Earth” are crimes considered punishable by death.
At a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on June 14, Tillerson declared that the United States intends to “work toward support of those elements inside of Iran that would lead to a peaceful transition of that government. Those elements are there, certainly as we know.”
“Our Iranian policy is under development. It’s not yet been delivered to the president, but I would tell you that we certainly recognize Iran’s continued destabilizing presence in the region, their payment of foreign fighters, their export of militia forces in Syria, in Iraq, in Yemen, their support for Hezbollah,” Tillerson continued. “And we are taking action to respond to Iran’s hegemony. Additional sanction actions have been put in place against individuals and others.”
Focusing on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its foreign military operations, the U.S. foreign secretary affirmed, “We continually review the merits both from the standpoint of diplomatic but also international consequences of designating the [IRGC] in its entirety as a terrorist organization.”
Tillerson also announced, “We have designated the Quds [Force]. Our policy toward Iran is to push back on this hegemony, contain their ability to develop obviously nuclear weapons.”
A day later, the Iranian government dismissed Tillerson’s remarks as “unacceptable.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi branded the comments as “interventionist, in gross violation of the compelling rules of international law, unacceptable, and strongly condemned.”
Emphasizing the necessity of a “decisive response to Tillerson’s interventionist, undiplomatic, and unconventional comments,” Larijani insisted that “[American] hostility toward Iran has a very old history.”
“America’s hostile actions have various effects and are intensifying every day,” he said.
Larijani then called on security agents-- and the IRGC security forces in particular -- to root out and monitor these people.
The judiciary, for its part, “will prosecute these people, regardless of the so-called advocates of the human rights and their hue and cry,” he said.
The U.S. Senate almost unanimously voted on June 14 to impose a new set of sanctions on Iran.
These new sanctions are a reaction to Iran’s efforts to develop ballistic missiles, supporting Islamic extremist militia, transferring weapons, and violating human rights.
“No nation accepts such disgrace,” Larijani said, referring to these new sanctions.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have significantly intensified since Donald Trump entered the White House.
During his presidential campaigns, Trump threatened to tear up JCPOA, or the world powers nuclear deal with Iran, if elected.
Furthermore, while visiting Israel two weeks ago, Trump named Iran, alongside IS, as a threat to peace and stability in the region.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei described the new U.S. administration as “rookie knife-wielding ruffians who do not understand the Iranian nation or how to act in regard to Iran.”