Lamb Soars By 60% As Food Prices In Iran Continue To Rise

The alcohol at the private event reportedly resulted in the death of one female doctor, left another in a coma, and caused several others to suffer from kidney failure.

Alcohol has been prohibited in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution – with penalties including imprisonment, floggings, and fines for consumption, production, or sale.

First-time offenders can face up to 80 lashes, and repeated offenses may lead to the death penalty.

For years, however, Iranians have continued to consume both imported and homemade alcoholic drinks available through the black market.

A 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) report ranked Iran ninth out of 189 countries in alcohol consumption per capita, indicating a significant level of underground activity related to the production and distribution of alcoholic beverages.

The latest incident is part of a broader pattern observed in late June and early July 2023, where numerous poisoning cases were reported across several provinces including Tehran, Alborz, Mazandaran, Hormozgan, and Qazvin.

Those incidents were linked to the consumption of what has been termed by authorities as "counterfeit beverages" or industrial alcohol, which have also led to multiple deaths.

Most victims identified in the cases are reportedly between the ages of 20 to 40 years old.

Many Iranians see these events as a reflection of the continuous overreach of religious regulations into their personal lives and choices.

Iran International has not yet been able to independently verify the authenticity of the footage, but the incident reportedly took place on April 28 at Hadish Mall in the Shamsabad area east of Tehran.

In the video, the mother asserts her rights by shouting at the police, "You won’t take my daughter anywhere," and insists that they wait for the girl's father to arrive before taking any action.

This latest video is part of a growing number of similar confrontations captured and spread on social media, showcasing the escalating tension between the Iranian populace and the authorities enforcing the hijab laws.

Recently, Iranian authorities have intensified those efforts under the regime’s new enforcement plan, dubbed “Plan Noor”.

This surge has resulted in violent crackdowns, targeting Iranian women on the streets.

Despite the regime’s efforts, there's a noticeable wave of civil disobedience sweeping across the country, with many women appearing in public spaces without hijabs, protesting against the impositions.

The ongoing crackdown on women follows several other troubling cases, including that of 16-year-old Armita Geravand, who fell into a coma after an altercation with hijab enforcers on Tehran’s subway in October 2023.

Reports suggest that she was pushed by a female security agent, resulting in a severe head injury – though the regime has attempted to obscure the incident's details.

The recent crackdowns, following a directive from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on April 13, have resulted in the arrest of hundreds of women across various cities in Iran.

In a letter from prison, Vasmaghi issued the plea to the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission and other international human rights bodies, detailing her own personal abuses and the systemic oppression under the Islamic Republic's policies.

A copy of Vasmaghi’s letter was shared with Iran International.

Vasmaghi, who writes that she has devoted a significant portion of her life to studying and teaching Islamic jurisprudence, also asserts that there is no religious mandate under Islamic Sharia for women to cover their hair.

“The result of my research on women's clothing is that religious women are not required to cover their hair under Islamic Sharia and some independent researchers in the field of religion have come to the same conclusion,” the letter reads.

Security forces arbitrarily detained Vasmaghi on March 16 and transferred her to Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison.

Her arrest followed her public criticism of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as a dictator and her condemnation of the compulsory hijab laws, which have been central to the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom movement sparked by Mahsa Jina Amini's death at the hands of the country’s so-called morality police.

“Many Iranian women have been against the mandatory hijab law for decades, and I have removed my headscarf in opposition to this law and to protest against the oppression of women and their dignity,” Vasmaghi wrote.

Vasmaghi was subjected to interrogation without the presence of legal representation and transferred to prison without due legal process.

During her imprisonment, Vasmaghi says she has endured numerous hardships.

She has been denied access to legal counsel, appropriate medical treatment, and even basic accommodations for her disability. Her requests for assistance have been ignored, and she has been isolated from her family for refusing to wear a hijab. Additionally, she has suffered from health issues, exacerbated by stress and initially neglected by prison authorities.

Vasmaghi's opposition and protest extend beyond the mandatory hijab law itself to encompass the broader suppression of women's rights and dignity in Iran.

She maintains that the enforcement of such laws is not based on religious grounds but rather is a misuse of political power, inflicting psychological, physical, and financial damage on women.

The plea by Ali Valipour Goodarzi, the head of the Tehran Police Criminal Investigation Department, follows a violent assault on a public bus last month.

The unidentified assailant assaulted a passenger with a chain, before fleeing the scene.

The video of the attack quickly spread online – reportedly assisting the police in arresting the suspect, whose motives are still unknown.

In what can be described as a self-praising statement, Goodarzi on Monday, cited the case as an example of what he labeled as the "outstanding" performance of Tehran’s police.

Goodarzi’s appeal to the public coincides with intense scrutiny of the police department's effectiveness in maintaining safety in Tehran. Despite his optimistic depiction, many residents continue to voice their dissatisfaction, particularly criticizing the force's inability to curb crime in the capital.

Recent data underscores those concerns, suggesting that incidents such as theft have risen sharply, presenting significant challenges to public safety and security.

Asghar Jahangir, the deputy of social affairs for the judiciary, noted in December 2022 that theft has been the predominant crime in Iran for the last five years.

In addition, the police force’s enforcement of “Plan Nour” – which targets women refusing to wear the mandatory hijab – has further fueled the public’s discontent.

Criticism of the policy has extended beyond regime critics to include some supporters of the Islamic Republic – who don’t argue against the mandatory hijab law – but say that the police have been misallocating resources to suppress dissent rather than focusing on more prevalent criminal activities.

The ongoing encampments on campuses across the US have featured on the cover pages of many Iranian dailies in the past few days, triggering a considerable backlash from ordinary Iranians who view the stunt as ‘glaringly hypocritical’ from a regime that suspends, beats and imprisons students for much less than what students have been doing in the US in the past ten days.

“US universities are in the hands of students and professors that while condemning Israeli crimes in Gaza, are calling for the release of protesting students and the reinstatement of sacked students and members of faculty,” wrote the ultra-hardline Keyhan, which has been heralding the ‘demise’ and ‘end’ of the US and Israel for many years.

And, this time it is not just celebrating present events — but, the future, in which the author speculates that the US election hinges on the candidates’ support for Palestine.

The regime in Iran has always presented itself as the only true champion of Palestinians and their cause. This sentiment has become much stronger and prevalent since October 7th when Hamas, backed by Iran, rampaged border areas inside Israel, killing hundreds of civilians and drawing an Israeli onslaught – which has killed more than 30,0000 in Gaza.

Enraged by the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, students across the US have began organizing pro-Palestinian rallies and sit-ins to pressure their institutions to disclose and divest from funds and corporations that do business with Israel.

“See what is happening in the world,” Iran supreme leader Ali Khamenei posted on X Sunday.” In Western countries, in England and France, and in states across the US itself, people are coming out in huge numbers to chant slogans against Israel and America. US and Israel's reputation has been ruined. They truly have no solution.”

There’s little doubt that pro-Palestinian action has become more pronounced than ever. And there are many in the US who have expressed their displeasure with what they see as ‘heavy-handed’ response by university administration and law enforcement. But Khamenei may be the worst placed leader to address the issue.

The irony, as ordinary Iranians have been pointing out on social media, is hard to miss. It is a case of 'astounding hypocrisy', many say, of a regime who cheers on American students exercising their freedom of expression, while its prisons are humorously called ‘universities’ for hosting sheer numbers of students, graduates, and educators who have dared to speak their mind.

The ruling regime in Iran has a horrendous record in respecting the rights of its citizens. But its treatment of students and of modern, secular education has been particularly poor.

From shutting down universities in the name of Cultural Revolution in the early 1980s, to the bloody attack on dormitories at University of Tehran in the late 1990s, and the siege of Sharif University of Technology in 2022, the clerical regime has proven itself to be an archenemy of free and critical thinking that’s both the cornerstone and ultimate fruit of higher education.

It’s not at all surprising, then, that many Iranians, those with exposure to higher education, in particular, cannot help pointing out the regime’s hypocrisy on social media. “Those responsible for the calamity at the [University of Tehran] dorm, are now worried about American students,” posted an Iranian user on X last Friday –just one of dozens, perhaps hundreds, publicly voicing the same sentiment.