An Iranian cleric is teaching his followers that thinking about another woman while having sex with your wife will make your children gay.

Ayatollah Hossein Dehnavi, a celebrity preacher in Iran, made the speech to a packed auditorium of men and women in his home country.

It is the latest controversial teaching put forward by Dehnavi, who also warned that if women did not wear the hijab - the veil covering the hair and chest - properly, they could inadvertently cause some men to become homosexual.

Islamic cleric Dehnavi is a celebrity in his native Iran, giving speeches on relationships and family values

While thinking about another woman while having sex with your wife is not a sin, the Iranian ayatollah preaches, if she becomes pregnant it will mean the child will be gay. Homosexuality is punishable by death in the state

On past occasions He has preached that women must provide sex to their husbands at all times - and said women who are better educated or are financially independent 'harm men's authority'.

'One of the other duties of women in regard to their men is to take care of their men’s instinctive needs [sexual drive]', the cleric said in a report by The Clarion Project, an organisation against extremism.

'Do not break their pride and [you must] be more sensitive toward them'

During another speech, the ayatollah explain that it is not a sin for a man to think about another woman while he is having sex with his partner, but if she becomes pregnant as a result the child will be gay.

Incorrectly wearing the hijab, Dehnavi also warns, could lead to some men becoming homosexual. Hundreds of women attend the lectures and speeches of the Muslim cleric, whose is also regularly shown on state TV

The statements, thought to have been made in 2012 and 2013, came to light after being shared by Gay Star News this week.

Homosexual acts are punishable by death in Iran, with gay and lesbian people forced to hide their sexuality.

A man involved in the 'dominant' role in sodomy faces being flogged up to 100 times if he is unmarried and the sex is consensual, while the man playing the 'passive' can still be put to death regardless of his marriage status, according to a report in The Guardian.

Lesbians faced being whipped 100 times, but sex between two women can also lead to the death penalty if the act is committed four times.

Following his teachings, Dehavni says, will ultimately lead to 'peace on earth'. In another speech he controversially suggested that women should always be sexually available for their husbands

Men become 'saturated' if they have too much sex, Dehavni warns - suggesting becoming intimate once or twice a week is enough. He also says women can make their husbands aroused by showing off their armpits

Dehavni is a celebrated cleric in Iran, whose speeches on family life and marital affairs are shown on state TV and who people queue up for tickets to see him speak live, according to Iran Wire.

The 53-year-old grandfather has himself been married for 30 years

In other speeches he warns Iranian couples not to have too much sex: '.. only once or twice a week, not every day. Otherwise the wan will become saturated.'

He also suggests paler women wear black underwear and show off the most attractive parts of their bodies - their armpits and chest - to entice their husbands.