Radio Farda:

The head of the Islamic Republic’s judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, has warned Iranian media not to cover sex tourism unless they want to face prosecution.

The warning was issued September 10 amid increasing reports of Iraqi Shi'ite pilgrims to the holy city of Mashhad hiring sex workers during their stay. Some reports allege sex tourism has become a bigger draw for Iraqis to the holy Shi’ite city than the religious sites.

Ironically, one of the media outlets reporting on Iraqi sex tourism in Iran, Khabar Online, is closely affiliated with Larijani’s elder brother and speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ali Larijani. The brothers were born in Najaf, Iraq.

After forbidding coverage of the issue, Larijani said the United States had fabricated the reports of Iraqi sex tourism in Mashhad, telling the government’s official news agency IRNA, “The U.S. is attempting to sow the seeds of division between Iranians and Iraqis,” adding “I have ordered Tehran’s Prosecutor-General to charge media outlets that seek to promote animosity between Iranians and Iraqis by highlighting these stories about pilgrims to Mashhad.”

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