Iranian officials have banned the teaching of English in primary schools. Mehdi Navid-Adham, chief of Iran’s High Education Council, informed state television of the ban last Saturday. The move came after Islamic leaders warned that early learning of the English language has led to a Western “cultural invasion”. “Teaching English in government and non-government primary schools in the official curriculum is against laws and regulations,” Navid-Adham said. He added that the government may also stop non-curriculum English classes. The reasoning, Navid-Adham said, is that the groundwork, or basis, of Iranian culture should be taught to young children. In Iran, English language training is usually offered in middle school, to students from 12 to 14 years of age. However, in some primary schools, students may begin taking English classes at younger ages.