What it means
خیانت ملی (khiyânat-e meli) is the Persian legal and political term for treason, the act of betraying one’s own country or state. Both components come from Arabic: خیانت (khiyânat) derives from the Arabic root خ-و-ن, meaning betrayal or treachery, and ملی (meli) derives from ملت (mellat, nation, itself from the Arabic millah). Together they form a phrase that translates literally as national betrayal. The formal legal charge in Iranian courts may also appear as خیانت به کشور (khiyânat be keshvar), betrayal of the country. The word خیانت on its own can mean any kind of betrayal, including marital infidelity, so ملی is the crucial qualifier that lifts the phrase into the domain of state crime.
How to use it
- اون افسر به اتهام خیانت ملی دستگیر شد. (oun afssar be ettehâm-e khiyânat-e meli dastgir shod.) “That officer was arrested on a charge of treason.”
- خیانت ملی سنگینترین جرم در قانون ماست. (khiyânat-e meli sangin-tarin jorm dar qânun-e mâst.) “Treason is the most serious crime in our law.”
- اعدام به خاطر خیانت ملی در تاریخ ایران سابقه داره. (e’dâm be khâter-e khiyânat-e meli dar târikh-e irân sâbeqe dâre.) “Execution for treason has precedent in Iranian history.”
- اتهام خیانت ملی رو به سادگی نمیشه رد کرد. (ettehâm-e khiyânat-e meli ro be sâdegi nemishe radd kard.) “A charge of treason cannot be dismissed easily.”
Cultural note
In Iran, the charge of خیانت ملی has historically carried the possibility of the death penalty, and it has been applied in politically sensitive cases involving military personnel, spies, and, more controversially, in cases critics argue involved legitimate political dissent or contact with foreign journalists and organisations. The phrase resonates deeply in Iranian political culture partly because of its use during both the Pahlavi era and the Islamic Republic period in trials that received international attention. Ordinary Iranians use the word خیانت freely in everyday speech to mean any kind of disloyalty, from a friend breaking confidence to a spouse’s infidelity, but ملی transforms it entirely into the register of state security and criminal law.