Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has reportedly said that early learning of the English language paves the way for the West's "cultural invasion" of Iran.

The head of the state-run High Education Council, Mehdi Navid-Adham, said to local TV on Sunday that English classes in primary schools are "against laws and regulations." He added that English was no longer part of the educational curriculum. High school students will keep learning English, the official added.

Accroding to Mehdi Navid-Adham, primary schools will now focus on the Farsi language and classes of Iranian culture.

The news comes after an announcement from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps regarding recent protests. The Revolutionary Guard declared that the demonstrations had been orchestrated with the help of external forces, including the United States and Britain, and had been successfully suppressed.

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Earlier in January, Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Gholam Ali Khoshroo said during an emergency UN Security Council meeting that Tehran had "hard evidence" proving protests were " directed from abroad ." The meeting was called by the US, which has repeatedly accused Iranian authorities of cracking down on pro-democracy protesters.

A wave of protests has swept across the country in recent weeks, with thousands of people taking part in demonstrations. At least 21 people have been killed and over 400 hundred more arrested as a result of the unrest. However, most of those detained have been subsequently released, according to sources in police.

Reports of the ban have already aroused reaction on social networks.

Bad move, Mullahs! You just created a new income source for English language teachers. Parents will still have their children take private English language lessons if they believe that it will help them later in life in a world much larger than Iran! Needless differentiation! — okn (@Kas_Nwuke) 7 января 2018 г.

So Iran bans English because of "cultural invasion", about time we banned hijabs and Mosques then? https://t.co/JY0IbPoYUF — c777 (@c777deplorable) 7 января 2018 г.