Earthquakes are the results caused by women who dress provocatively and entice people into promiscuity, a prayer leader has controversially claimed.
Hojatoleslam Kazim Sadeghi, a senior cleric in Tehran made the undisciplined accusation during morning prayers.
In a videotape posted on YouTube he says: “When promiscuity spreads, earthquakes increase.” “There is no way other than taking refuge in religion and adapting ourselves to Islamic behavior,” he added.
Last year Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei appointed Kazim as a substitute prayer leader in Tehran – the second most powerful position behind Khamenei.
Kazim is not the first religious figure to hold human behaviour responsible for natural disasters on.
Iran has suffered greatly from seismic activity, with one in the city of Bam killing tens of thousands in 2003.