Female Activists Speak Up About Forced Stripping In Prisons

Amir Ali Hajizadeh said of Saturday's clash: “Some people are to turn these conflicts into a war, but such a war will never happen."

Two Iranian border guards and one Taliban fighter were killed after shooting broke out near a border post. It was not immediately clear what had caused the incident, in which several people were also injured, but it came amid tensions over water rights.

Iran has accused Afghanistan's Taliban of violating a 1973 treaty by restricting the flow of water from the Helmand River to Iran's parched eastern regions, an accusation denied by the Taliban.

Hajizadeh admitted only that “there have been some incidents on the border that are being managed by the forces there, and we should not add fuel to the fire," in a bid to downplay the escalation.

Regime voices including Esmail Kosari, a member of Iranian Parliament’s National Security Commission, have also massively understated the killing and wounding of Iranian border guards saying it was a "disagreement and fighting between children of the same household", suggesting the regime is working hard to ensure no further escalation.

His statements angered many Iranians saying there is no similarity and brotherhood between Iranians and the Taliban militants who have been responsible for years of brutal atrocities against the Afghan people.

The bill is not forceful enough for hardliners, because it bans religious conservatives from confronting women who don’t cover their heads. The bill mainly relies on cash fines to force women to wear the hijab.

Part of the regime in Tehran fears strict and forceful enforcement of hijab might trigger another round of protests, similar to last September when a 22-year-old woman died after her injuries in ‘morality police’ custody. 

While some hardliners demand harsh treatment of bad-hijab women, Vice President for Legal Affairs Mohammad Dehghan told reporters in Tehran on Monday: "We wish to avoid making hijab a pretext for further deepening divides and disputes in the country." He added: "We are thinking of using the issue as a basis to bring about national solidarity."

Dehghan said that the current bill, which has been criticized by some hardliners as being focused on levying monetary penalties rather than confronting women in the streets, has been prepared by the Judiciary and the administration has simply tried not to change it dramatically. 

Referring to the criticisms, Dehghan said, "After the recent protests which were organized by foreigners, the issue of hijab must be dealt with a more comprehensive approach." He probably meant that the government needs to take a pragmatic stance to avoid further unrest. He reiterated that the government believes in "a cultural approach" to the issue.

Dehghan, however, made it clear that the government agrees that celebrities who promote the idea of "hijablessness" should be dealt with legal prosecution. He added that the security forces will deal with those who promote anti-hijab ideas based on foreign views. In other cases, law enforcement will simply advise women to observe the hijab. If they accept the guidance, then that is all, but if they insist to defy the hijab, they will be fined. 

One of the staunch critics of the hijab bill happens to be President Ebrahim Raisi's father-in-law Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayers Imam of Mashhad. Lawmaker Jalal Rashidi Koochi quipped that Raisi should take back the hijab bill from the Majles and hand it over to Alamolhoda for further review before giving it back to the parliament. 

Koochi charged that "the bill in its current form is all about arresting and fining women. If Alamolhoda wishes to make any change in the bill, he should not criticize the parliament as he did. He should instead address his complaints to his son-in-law Raisi." Alamolhoda had earlier called on the Majles not to ratify the bill as it will promote lack of hijab.

Koochi however criticized the bill for lacking any provision that would encourage women to observe the hijab. "The bill is mainly about if you do this, you have to pay this amount," Kooch said. 

During the past week, many conservatives and hardliners harshly criticized the bill. The hardline editor of Kayhan daily Hossein Shariatmadari said "It is funny that the police is only allowed to send text messages to women telling them that they have been seen without headscarf. This bill cannot enforce the hijab."

Former Deputy Judiciary Chief Mohammad Javad Larijani said: "If someone sees a naked woman standing behind the window, he should have the right to call the police." Meanwhile, responding to Iranian politicians who have called for holding a referendum about hijab, Larijani said that this will violate the Constitution of the Islamic Republic. 

Lawmaker Mohammad-Taghi Naghdali, the secretary of the parliament's legal committee, in a video that quickly went viral suggested harsh punishments including lashes and deprivation from social rights as well as heavy fines for women who refuse to wear the compulsory hijab. 

Calls for harsher punishments than what is called for in the hijab bill continue by seminary clerics, Friday Prayer Imams and other hardliners in various parts of the country, while the number of women defying hijab has been on the rise in the streets during the past 8 months since the start of Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran, despite the official ban on the entry of hijabless women to academic centers and administrative buildings and even subway stations. 

Speaking at an ambassadorial meeting, Ahmad Vahidi said: “The enemy has created an unrealistic image of Iran in the minds of people in all parts of the world using its mainstream media.”

In spite of the deaths of around 750 civilians and arrest of 30,000 more, he claimed that in protests following the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Amini, the police and security forces 'exercised restraint', blatantly denying the brutal crackdowns which have been wrought across the country.

The Human Rights Council decided to establish an independent international fact-finding mission on Iran's deadly repression of protests in October, after unrest broke out in September. 

The UN mission in particular asked for information concerning violent crackdown on peaceful protests by security forces, including alleged arbitrary arrests and detentions, sexual and gender-based violence, excessive use of force, torture and other inhumane treatment and enforced disappearances, as well as the deaths of hundreds of peaceful protesters and thousands of arrests.

The mission is also seeking documentation on physical, psychological and sexual abuse of women and girls for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and children’s rights violations in relation to the protests, including in raids on schools, and the incarceration of children in ‘psychological centers.'

This was Washington's first action targeting Syria since its readmittance to the Arab League.

The US Treasury Department in a statement accused the two money service businesses, Al-Fadel Exchange and Al-Adham Exchange Company, of helping President Bashar al-Assad's government and its allies, Hezbollah and Iran's Quds Force, an arm of its Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

The sanctions, imposed under the Caesar Act that also levied a tough round of sanctions on Syria in 2020, come after Arab states earlier this month turned the page on years of confrontation with Assad and readmitted Syria to the Arab League, a milestone in his regional rehabilitation even as the West continues to shun him after years of civil war.

The move came as what seemed to be policy change by Saudi Arabia as it restored diplomatic ties with Iran in March after seven years tensions.

Regional countries - including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others - had for years supported anti-Assad rebels, but Syria's army - backed by Iran, Russia and allied paramilitary groups - regained most of the country. The icy ties with Assad began to thaw more quickly after devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey in February.

The United States has said it will not normalize ties with Assad and has said Syria did not merit readmission into the Arab League.

With reporting by Reuters

Regime security and intelligence forces have framed Fazel and Mehran Bahramian for the murder of an IRGC Basij militia gunman during anti-government protests in the city last December.

The two were arrested in January after the government killed their brother Morad in November. Their detention was apparently aimed to silencing the family. Now they are being accused of killing the Basij member, Mohsen Rezaei, and face charges that could result in the death penalty.

The streets of Semirom witnessed a surge of protests on December 31. Security and military forces were heavily deployed throughout the city at the time. The paramilitary Basij force member, Mohsen Rezaei, allegedly died in clashes.

Hundreds of special police forces were deployed to Samirom starting January 1.

Several people, including Abbasi's sister and Bahramian's two brothers, were arrested during raids on the victims' families.

A source told IranWire that Fazel and Mehran Bahramian, a relative named Younes Bahramian, and another man named Dariush Saadi were tortured to extract confessions on the alleged murder of the Basij militiaman.