Iran's Khamenei says homosexuality example of West's immorality

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei described homosexuality as part of the "moral deprivation" widespread in Western civilisation, during a televised speech on Tuesday.

"There is severe moral deprivation in the world today such as homosexuality and things that one cannot bring oneself to even talk about. Some have rightly called Western civilisation a new age of ignorance," Khamenei said.

Western rights groups have often criticised Iran, where homosexual acts among men can be punished by the death penalty.

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Tehran has dismissed the criticism as baseless and due to a lack of understanding of its Islamic laws.

"The same moral vices of the age of ignorance (in pre-Islamic Arabia) exist today in the so-called civilised Western world in an organised and more widespread way. Life in Western civilisation is based on greed, and money is the basis of all Western values," Khamenei said.