Iran’s hardline parliament raises concerns with ‘foreign infiltration’ plan

Tehran, Iran – Iran’s hardline-dominated parliament has approved the broad outlines of a plan presented as a means of combatting foreign “infiltration”, with a consequential focus on academia, media and the cultural sector.Proponents have presented it as an effort to complement another tough law punishing espionage passed after last year’s 12-day war with Israel and the United States to bolster wartime national security.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Why White House envoys cannot sway Israel’s war leaderlist 2 of 3UAE trade embargo could shut Iran’s key economic escape route: Here’s whylist 3 of 3‘Tit for tat’: Why is Trump cosying up to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un again?end of listThe controversy around the plan this week erupted as the deadline of a memorandum of understanding with Washington expired, amid prospects of further military escalation in the current US-Israel war on Iran. But Ruhollah Nejabat, a hardline member of parliament from Shiraz, said the plan was first approved earlier this year to counter the “influence” of Iran’s enemies.The envisioned legislation, which was approved during a remote parliamentary session on Sunday, has alarmed the public, exper...