Iran (BN24) –Two of Iran’s most influential clerics have issued sweeping new religious decrees declaring that any insult, threat, or aggression directed at Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei constitutes an assault on the essence of Islam itself—an offense that, under Iran’s strict interpretation of Islamic law, is punishable by death.
The fatwas—issued Sunday by Grand Ayatollah Hosein Noori Hamedani and Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi—state that such acts amount to moharebeh, or “waging war against God,” one of the gravest charges in the Islamic Republic’s penal code.
Noori Hamedani’s decree goes further, specifying that “whoever provides assistance in this crime will carry the same guilt.”
While the fatwas did not name any individual or government, they followed questions about recent comments by President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting they would consider targeting Khamenei amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.
The decrees were published widely by Iranian state media on the same day the Iranian parliament released details of a new bill that significantly broadens the definition of crimes against national security. The combination has alarmed lawyers and rights advocates, who warn the measures could pave the way for more executions and severe crackdowns on dissent.
According to text published by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, the bill categorizes a broad range of activities as potential capital offenses, including:
- “Any action or cooperation in carrying out political, cultural, media, and propaganda activities,”
- “Creating and reflecting artificial damage,”
- “Publishing false news that causes public fear or terror,” and
- “Creating division or harming national security.”
The bill proposes that those convicted of these acts could be found guilty of corruption on earth, an offense that carries the death penalty. Courts would have discretion to instead impose prison terms of 10 to 15 years.
“It is really terrifying,” a Tehran-based attorney told ABC News on condition of anonymity. “The new bill keeps the interpretation of the crimes so widely open that any activity can now be easily labeled as ‘corruption on earth,’ while formerly the same actions would have been prosecuted as ‘propaganda against the regime’ with much shorter prison sentences.”
“Neither the new law nor the fatwa is in favor of the defendants,” the lawyer added.
In Shia Islam, a fatwa is issued by a marja, a senior cleric whose rulings guide the religious obligations of followers. While many fatwas deal with everyday questions—such as prayer, fasting, or ethical conduct—others have had far-reaching social and political consequences.
One of the most notorious examples was the 1989 decree by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for the death of novelist Salman Rushdie. Rushdie was stabbed in 2022 in New York by an assailant who prosecutors said showed “strong indicators of ideological support for the Iranian regime,” though Tehran denied any involvement.
Under Iran’s constitution, judges are empowered to request or rely on “credible fatwas” in cases where the law does not explicitly define a crime.
“Now we see both the law and the fatwa are issued,” the Tehran lawyer said. “It is deeply concerning how it will affect future trials.”
Rights groups warn that the convergence of the fatwas and the legislation could further erode what remains of freedom of expression in Iran, exposing not only critics of the supreme leader but also ordinary protesters and journalists to the risk of capital punishment.
The new measures arrive amid an intensified clampdown on dissent, including rapid executions and mass arrests, as the Iranian government seeks to suppress opposition during a period of regional crisis and internal unrest.
