Iranians supporting the United States and Israel strikes on Tehran, while living abroad, can have their property seized and other legal actions taken against them, the Iranian prosecutor general's office has said on Monday.
Protests to demand regime change in Iran and even celebrations of the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, have been held by members of the Iranian diaspora in some European and American cities for more than a week now. On a day when Khamenei's son, Mujtaba Khamenei, took over as the supreme leader of the country, this fresh diktat was issued by the prosecutor general's office.
Iran's state media quoted the prosecutor general's office as saying, "A warning has been issued to those Iranians living abroad who in different ways sympathise, support or cooperate with the American-Zionist (Israeli) enemy." "They will be met with the confiscation of all their properties and other legal penalties in accordance with the law," the statement read.
Iran has a significant diaspora. The government of the country says that over 5 million Iranians live in different countries across the world, the majority of them in the United States and Western Europe. The media, however, puts the number of Iranian diaspora closer to 10 million, double the government figure.
Reuters has reported that Telegram channels in Iran are sharing details of prominent Iranians, living abroad, who have posted comments critical of Iran's clerical authorities and have been supportive of the US-Israeli military strikes in Tehran.
Before the strikes by the US and Israel, which started on February 28 and killed the supreme leader on the very first day, widespread protests were reported from different parts of the country, including the capital, Tehran. The protests were against the clerical regime. However, media houses have reported that the protests were quelled quite brutally by the regime, with thousands estimated to have been killed in the crackdown.
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