Earthquakes are caused by women who dress provocatively and tempt people into promiscuity, a prayer leader has controversially claimed.
Hojatoleslam Kazim Sadeghi who is a senior cleric in Tehran made the wild accusation during morning prayers.
In a video 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.
Sadeghi was last year appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei as a substitute prayer leader in Tehran – the second most powerful position behind Khamenei who is the official prayer leader.
Iran has suffered greatly from earthquakes, with one in the city of Bam killing tens of thousands in 2003.
Sadeghi is not the first religious figure to blame the natural disasters on human behaviour.
US televangelist Pat Robertson previously said that Haiti’s devastating earthquake was down to an alleged pact the Haitians had made with the devil in the 18th century.