Supreme Leader: Security prerequisite for progress

"The enemy is not sitting still. It is constantly scheming to deliver us a blow by creating conflict or other means, so we must stay aware and prepare ourselves," the leader told representatives of Iran's western nomadic tribes on Thursday afternoon.

Ayatollah Khamenei, who was on a weeklong tour of the western province of Kurdestan, described security as the basis for progress and the main regional concern, urging all Iranian tribes and ethnic groups to counter efforts to fuel sectarianism by staying united.

In another meeting with Kurdestan's leading officials on Friday, the leader urged authorities to adopt all necessary measures to ensure the rapid progress of the province, which has a majority Kurd Sunni population.

During the Friday meeting, several ministers who were accompanying the leader on his visit delivered a report on the various educational, agricultural, and industrial projects that had been completed or were underway in the province.

Kurdestan, which shares borders with Iran's volatile westerly neighbor Iraq, is where the PJAK separatist group, an offshoot of the globally-recognized terrorist organization, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), seek to gain ground by carrying out violent attacks.

According to a November 2006 article published by The New Yorker, the US military and "Israel" provide PJAK with equipment, training and vital intelligence to destabilize the Iranian government.