Public Outrage as Authorities Plan for 'Cultural Center' in Tehran Park

Non-compliant pharmacies risk facing legal consequences, as stated by Heidar Mohammadi during a briefing at the Presidential Communications Center on Monday. However it is not clear if the official was referring to violations by pharmacy staff or customers.

Mohammadi emphasized that the organization was among the pioneers in enforcing the mandatory hijab, leading to the implementation of specific dress code regulations within pharmacies. Describing non-compliance as a "deviation," he noted that "compliance with norms" is crucial for pharmacies to maintain their quota allocations.

“If a pharmacy fails to adhere to the norms, it will initially receive a warning. Should the warning prove ineffective, more severe deterrent measures will be executed. Continuous non-compliance will lead to legal actions against the violators,” Mohammadi added.

The food and drug administration of Iran, which oversees the policies and guidelines for a wide range of products including drugs, food, and medical devices, introduced hijab mandates for female pharmacy staff in August 2021. The mandates, which were reinforced in February 2023, require all female employees to wear a black veils among other dress code rules.

In the wake of the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, several pharmacies were sealed across various Iranian cities for failing to comply with the regulations.

The protests highlighted widespread discontent with mandatory hijab laws among other issues related to women's rights in the country.

Sparked by new tax legislation passed by the Iranian parliament, the protest began in Tehran's bazaar on April 28 and has quickly escalated into a nationwide movement.

Videos obtained by Iran International show that Islamic Republic agents have sealed the shops of protesting gold jewelers in the religious city of Mashhad on Monday.

The primary grievance driving the strike is the reactivation of the Comprehensive Trade System coupled with the introduction of a Capital Gains Tax.

These measures are part of the government's broader economic strategy to streamline market operations and enhance regulatory oversight, claims President Ebrahim Raisi's administration.

However, the implementation has not been smooth, with gold and jewelry business owners expressing concerns. The new system mandates that all manufacturers and sellers, both wholesale and retail, must register their transactions, a requirement that has exacerbated anxieties within the sector over potential financial burdens.

The discontent among gold merchants intensified Sunday, as protests continued in cities like Shiraz, Yazd, Isfahan, Mashhad, Urmia, Zanjan, Qom, and Ardebil.

In a related but separate event, merchants in Bandar Abbas also held demonstrations to protest the recent hike in the value-added tax (VAT) rate, which was increased from 9% to 10% at the start of the current Iranian year in March 2024.

Experts have voiced concerns that the tax increases, which are passed on to consumers, might further fuel inflation, which has already reached an annual rate of over 50%, as reported by the Central Bank of Iran.

Their remarks mainly target the government's handling of issues related to compulsory hijab and financial misconduct. They question why individuals like Tehran Friday Prayers Imam Kazem Sedighi, who confessed to appropriating a $20-million land in Tehran, remain unprosecuted and at large.

However, many such critics, fearing reprisal, opt to direct their criticism not at the Supreme Leader, but towards other officials, such as Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, appointed by Khamenei, who is perceived as merely executing the Supreme Leader's directives.

The most prominent cleric speaking about corruption was Grand Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli , who warned the government, or in fact Khamenei, that "the problem of hijab cannot be solved using bayonets."

Speaking about the violent crackdown on Iranian women who defy compulsory hijab, Javadi Amoli said teasingly: "Adjusting the headscarf to cover more of the hair does not guarantee chastity and will certainly not prevent financial corruption."

Meanwhile, Khabar Online website quoted the ayatollah as having said in an older tweet: "Sometimes people write to me and ask why I do not say anything about the hijab." He continued that the problem of hijab cannot be solved with harsh measures. "The only thing that kind of measures can do is to encourage people to adhere to the appearance of the hijab rules. Otherwise, the problem remains unresolved."

In another development, Jamaran news website quoted Muslim scholar Ayatollah Yadollah Douzdouzani Tabrizi as having said in reference to the land grab by Tehran Friday Prayer Imam Kazem Sedighi who apologized to Khamenei for his wrongdoing: "We cannot make such mistakes and simply apologize to make it up to others."

He reminded that whatever clerics do or say is done or said in the name of Islam. He warned that taking one wrong step by a cleric will go a long way to discredit Islam. The ayatollah said this as part of peaching to his pupils at his ethics class at the seminary.

Elsewhere, in a letter to Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the centrist Ntional Development Party, asked him why he is silent in the face of organized violations of the law. According to the letter: "The re-emergence of the ‘morality police’ in the streets simultaneously with the missile attack on Israel means taking advantage of an international issue to further a domestic factional matter."

The party told Ejei: "You have deeply hurt the sentiments of our nation by equating adherence to compulsory hijab with chastity, and by urging the police to treat Iranian women who defy compulsory hijab as if they were dealing with enemy agents."

The letter further stated that "It is a shame that while the country is facing its worst economic crisis in 45 years and it is at war with Israel, authorities have assigned the police force to confront the women. What makes you think that it is part of your responsibilities to harass people's wives and daughters in the streets?"

Khabar Online published a statement by Ahmad Abdollahi, a cleric at the "Promotion of Virtues and Prohibition of Vice Headquarters as saying that: "Some 2,000 women who have been arrested for hijab, have said in interviews with officials that the introduction of the morality police has had no positive impact on the way Iranian women dress."

Along the same lines, Ayatollah Mostafa Dousti Zanjani pointed out that "The people are against the government's order to enforce compulsory hijab," adding that this has been counterproductive. The Friday Prayers Imam of Gorgan Kazem Nourmofidi also said that "In the same way that the government failed to force Iranian women to remove their headscarves in the 1930s, it is impossible to force Iranian women today to wear headscarves."

Mohammadi, known for her human rights advocacy, referred to the detention of 21 Iranian women over the age of 60.

Evin prison – a primary site for political detainees – has long been known for its serious human rights abuses against dissidents.

In her letter, Mohammadi highlighted the broader issue of systemic neglect and harsh treatment of political detainees, stating that the conditions of the prisoners epitomize both the “cruelty of the Islamic Republic” and the “indomitable” spirit of women fighting for liberation.

"Society has moved past the despotic religious regime and aspires to a new plan for freedom and equality," she wrote.

Last month, Iran International reported that over 60 female political prisoners endure security and judicial pressures, with many experiencing medical neglect and age-related health complications.

Sources revealed that several prisoners were detained under unclear circumstances – and that conditions in the women’s ward are dire with prisoners deprived of basic rights, such as medical care, the ability to protest, correspondence, and family visits.
The ongoing neglect of medical needs for political prisoners has also led to multiple deaths in custody, attributed to torture, pressure, and medical negligence, further demonstrating the authorities' disregard for the health and well-being of detainees.

“I proposed a set of concrete practical measures for the revitalization of the 4 March 2023 Joint Statement with aim of restoring process of confidence building and increasing transparency,” the IAEA Chief tweeted after a meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

The IAEA delegation’s visit comes at a time the agency has admitted to having lost crucial "continuity of knowledge" regarding Tehran’s nuclear activities.

Before his departure, Grossi highlighted the increased accumulation of enriched uranium by Iran, a matter that raises alarms about potential weaponization.

The country is said to be enriching uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the 90% of weapons grade, and has enough uranium enriched to that level to make “several” nuclear bombs if it chose to do so.

Those concerns, underscored by Grossi’s own admission that the IAEA cannot fully ensure that Iran does not have additional, undisclosed centrifuges, potentially hidden from the agency's oversight.

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammad Eslami, meanwhile, voiced his hope that despite the media’s “negative” portrayal of Iran’s nuclear program, the IAEA can fulfill its role as an international entity independently, free from political influence and pressure.

Following Grossi’s last visit to Iran in 2023, the two parties issued a joint statement, among which Tehran had promised to continue its cooperation and provide further information and access to address outstanding safeguards issues related to three specific locations. Additionally, Tehran had agreed to allow the IAEA to implement additional verification and monitoring activities on a voluntary basis.

Since then, Iran has reneged on its promises and has deactivated surveillance devices, barred senior inspectors, and refused to disclose new nuclear facilities.

While international concerns about Iran’s nuclear program have continued to mount, Iran has often avoided being censured by the IAEA board for its non-compliance.

Grossi is also likely to attend an Iranian nuclear conference while on his two-day tour in Iran – sparking criticism.

“Such a visit risks legitimizing Tehran’s development of nuclear technology outside IAEA safeguards and Iran’s provocative nuclear advances, while minimizing the regime’s non-compliance with its nonproliferation obligations," nuclear expert Andrea Stricker said.