UN warns all eyes on Iran after woman stripped in hijab protest

“In a recent interview, the government’s spokeswoman declared that hijab is not something [that authorities] can impose by force,” Ali Saeedi who heads the Ideological-Political Bureau of Iran's Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, on Friday told Howzah News, the news agency of Iran's Shia seminaries.

At an October 29 press briefing, a reporter questioned government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani on whether Pezeshkian's administration was taking steps to prevent police from penalizing women for defying the hijab law by impounding their vehicles. “That is still happening,” the reporter stressed.

Mohajerani replied that compliance with the hijab cannot be achieved through pressure and violence. She noted that over the past forty years, experience has shown that forceful methods are ineffective.

She also stressed that the President still abides by his promise to the Iranian people to try to put a stop to using such methods to enforce hijab.

“Her Highness is not mindful of the fact that hijab is both a Sharia rule and a [civil] law requirement,” Saeedi said in a harsh tone and added that the administration is required to abide by the Sharia and implement the civil law. 

Saeedi accused the government of neglecting its responsibility and adopting a lenient stance toward what he described as "libertinism and vulgarism" concerning the hijab issue.

The recently finalized hijab law imposes an array of penalties including heavy cash fines and prison terms on women for not conforming to strict hijab regulations and businesses for not enforcing them.

The finalization of the legislation, a year after it passed Parliament, was announced on October 19 by Hadi Tahan-Nazif, the constitutional Guardian Council’s spokesman. Parliament legislation only becomes effective after the clerical council approves it.

During this time, the Parliament and the Guardian Council repeatedly shuffled the legislation back and forth behind closed doors.

The Council and lawmakers disclosed very little of the Council’s objections to the legislation's provisions and the amendments that it required the Parliament to make before it was finally approved.

The announcement placed Pezeshkian in a dilemma. As president, he is legally obligated to sign and formally relay new legislation to his administration for enactment within five days of receiving notification from Parliament.

In the past, presidents like Hassan Rouhani, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and others have repeatedly refused to acknowledge or enact legislation they opposed. In such instances, the responsibility to communicate the legislation falls to the speaker of parliament.

However, neither Pezeshkian nor Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf has taken the legally required step or provided any explanation for the delay—an unprecedented situation in the history of the Islamic Republic.

Pundits say Ghalibaf, who has formed an undeclared alliance with Pezeshkian against ultra-hardliners, is cautious about taking responsibility for enacting the highly unpopular law, which could even spark unrest. Meanwhile, Pezeshkian is deeply concerned about alienating his voters, many of whom strongly support abolishing the compulsory hijab.

The US dollar exchange rate surged to over 705,000 rials in Iran's free market on Sunday. One dollar was traded at about 70 rials on average for several years before the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

The rial dropped to 762,000 against the euro and 905,000 against the British pound.

On Sunday, the Tehran Stock Exchange index also plunged by 28,000 points, falling to about 2,032,000 points.

Iranian media usually cite several factors as potential contributors to a rising US dollar rate, including expectations of higher inflation, increased demand for the UAE dirham—a key currency in Iran’s foreign trade amid US sanctions—regional tensions, and the potential for Donald Trump to win the US election.

Iran is already grappling with soaring inflation exceeding 40%, and the rial's continued decline will drive prices even higher, further impoverishing a population that has seen its purchasing power fall significantly since 2018. That year, US sanctions imposed by the Trump administration—following its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal—targeted oil exports and banking, slashing Iran’s income and dealing a severe blow to its oil-dependent economy.

In August, Israel began its punishing attacks on Iran’s proxy, the Lebanese Hezbollah, ultimately killing its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, which led to an Iranian retaliation with ballistic missiles on October 1. The anticipation of the Israeli response, which occurred in late October, took a heavy toll on the economy, with the rial nearing the 700,000 mark several times—a level that holds significant psychological resistance in Iran.

In recent days, numerous Iranian officials have threatened to retaliate against Israel’s October airstrikes, which targeted Iran’s air defenses and missile installations while avoiding nuclear and energy facilities.

Washington directly warned Tehran on Saturday against launching another attack, saying it will not be able to restrain its ally this time, Axios reported citing an American official, amid reports of Iran's preparations for another strike on Israel. 

On top of mounting military and economic pressures, President Masoud Pezeshkian unveiled next year’s budget in October, allocating nearly 20% of Iran’s oil export revenue—estimated to exceed $10 billion—primarily to the Revolutionary Guard. In the current budget, the military’s share of oil is around 200,000 barrels per day, while next year it would be an estimated 430,000 barrels.

One might assume that some of these students rose to positions of power. Indeed, some did, but most eventually fell out of favor with Iran’s leaders, with a few even landing in jail. The exact number of those involved remains unknown. Now, 45 years later, only a handful remain untouched—and even they are viewed with disfavor by both the Iranian public and insiders within the establishment.

Former conservative lawmaker Ali Motahari, wrote last November that it was "an unnecessary move that was made with the provocations of leftist groups to serve the interests of the Embassy of the Soviet Union and the Tudeh Communist Party." Many others recall that the 1979 seizure of the US Embassy plunged Iran into decades of hardship, triggering a prolonged war and a crushing economic crisis for its people. But where are those who made that fateful decision?

Masoumeh Ebtekar, the spokesperson for the radical students, eventually rose to become President Hassan Rouhani’s vice president for women and family affairs and previously served as vice president for the environment. Last year, some lawmakers introduced a motion to take her to court over alleged failures in environmental protection.

Ebtekar is married to Mohammad Hashemi Esfahani, another former hostage-taker and who later became an Intelligence Ministry operative, and has been implicated in illicit oil sales. Known to the American hostages as "Sister Mary," Ebtekar was one of the few students who spoke English.

Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, who initially designed and masterminded the embassy seizure, remains active today as a self-proclaimed reformist. However, he is largely shunned by the reformist camp, who view him as an insider closely linked to Khamenei’s circle. According to the Mashregh News website, which is affiliated with Iranian intelligence, Asgharzadeh led the hostage-takers' “central council,” which included figures such as Ali Asghar Zahmatkesh, Abbas Abdi, Hashemi Esfahani, and others.

Abdi soon left the group. He later became the editor of leftist newspaper Salam and is currently a high-profile reformist commentator. He is the only hostage taker who later met with one of the hostages and reportedly apologized for his behavior.

Another well-known hostage taker was Mohammad Reza Khatami, former President Mohammad Khatami's brother and is nowhere to be seen after he fell out with the establishment. Khatami served as a deputy Majles Speaker in the 1990s.

Mohsen Aminzadeh, a prominent figure in the embassy seizure, later became a deputy foreign minister with ties to the Intelligence Ministry. He was jailed after the contested 2009 presidential election but has since been released.

Hossein Kamali went on to serve as Iran’s labor minister and was close to former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Until 1985, the former students held regular meetings at the US Embassy building, where they managed the translation and publication of seized embassy documents. In that year, the Intelligence Ministry took control of the remaining documents, halting further Persian translations. It was then that "The Students Following the Line of Imam Khomeini" chose to dissolve as a group or political organization.

Several former members, including Reza Seyfollahi, Aziz Jafari, and Hossein Dehghan, joined the armed forces. Seyfollahi served as Iran’s police chief for a few years before moving to the IRGC Intelligence Organization. Hossein Dehghan served as Iran’s interior minister for a few years. Aziz Jafari was the IRGC's commander-in-chief for several years until Hossein Salami succeeded him in 2019. Alireza Afshar led the Basij militia for several years before taking charge of the “soft war” department at the National Defense University, while Akbar Rafan was the IRGC’s first air force commander. Several former students lost their lives during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.

Habibollah Bitaraf, who was energy minister under President Khatami, currently faces criticism for policies that allegedly damaged Iran’s environment. Rahman Dadman served as Khatami’s road minister and died in a plane crash. Ezzatollah Zarghami, another former student who joined the IRGC, became deputy culture minister in the 1990s and later headed state television; he was also appointed cultural heritage and tourism minister under President Raisi.

One of the more interesting figures among the students was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who declined to participate in the embassy takeover. According to Hashemi Esfahani, Ahmadinejad argued that they should instead target the Russian Embassy.

This is the updated version of a similar article published on this website in November 2021.

Hossein Salami issued a statement on Sunday saying, "On the anniversary of the heroic seizure of the American spy den in Tehran, we issue a warning to the number one enemy of the Iranian people and its rabid dog, the criminal Zionist regime.”

Iran’s clerical rulers observe the "national day of the fight against global arrogance" and commemorate the "anniversary of the historic seizure of the American spy den," marking the November 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran and the 444-day hostage crisis involving its staff.

Salami added, “The Resistance Front and Islamic Iran will equip themselves with all that is necessary for a victorious confrontation with the enemy, undeterred by the threats and posturing of the tyrants in Washington and Tel Aviv."

In recent days, a host of Iranian officials have threatened to retaliate against Israel’s October 26 air strikes that targeted Iran’s air defenses and missile installations but avoiding nuclear and energy facilities.

Washington directly warned Tehran on Saturday against launching another attack, saying it will not be able to restrain its ally this time, Axios reported citing an American official, amid reports of Iran's preparations for another strike on Israel.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that "the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel) will certainly receive a crushing response."

The Israeli Army Radio, citing unnamed American officials, reported that Washington has recorded military movements in Iran in preparation for an attack on Israel.

In a direct message sent to Iran through the Swiss, the Biden administration warned the Islamic Republic that Israel's response to a possible Iranian attack will not be as limited as the one launched last Saturday.

"We won't be able to hold Israel back, and we won't be able to make sure that the next attack will be calibrated and targeted as the previous one," a US official told Axios.

The US Central Command announced late Saturday, in both English and Persian, that B-52 Superfortress bombers deployed a day earlier have arrived in the Middle East. This can deter Tehran from a serious escalation, or possible attacks on US and other non-Israeli targets. Islamic Republic officials have repeatedly blamed the United States for Israel’s air strikes, saying that Washington supplied both the weapons and intelligence.

In an interview with Iran International TV, she revealed that Iranian state media has yet to confirm his death through an official announcement, leaving her family without direct evidence of what happened to him.

The German and US governments, according to Gazelle, were informed of her father’s death by Iranian officials, yet neither has provided her family with proof of his execution.

“We don’t even know where my father’s body is,” she said, underscoring the absence of clarity on his fate. “Has anyone seen his body? We have seen no evidence. The German government simply accepted the word of the terrorist regime of the Islamic Republic when they said my father was dead.”

Jamshid Sharmahd, a 68-year-old software developer and California resident, was abducted by Iranian operatives during a visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2020 and forcibly brought to Iran. Accused of endangering national security, he was sentenced to death by an Iranian court in February 2023. According to his daughter, Iranian authorities subjected her father to prolonged solitary confinement, physical abuse, and denial of necessary medications, leading her to believe that the severe treatment was intended to end his life prematurely.

Sharmahd’s family first learned of his apparent death through a report from the Mizan News Agency, a media outlet linked to Iran’s judiciary, which stated that he had "met the consequence of his actions." The report avoided the term “execution,” with subsequent coverage only mentioning an “end” to his case—a notable departure from the standard judicial language typically used in Iranian media for executions.

Legal expert Moein Khazaeli, speaking to Iran International from Sweden, noted that the judiciary's choice of words implies a break from standard execution procedures in Iran. “Media affiliated with the Islamic Republic typically use terms like ‘was executed’ or ‘was hanged,’” Khazaeli added. “The phrase ‘met the consequence of his actions’ suggests that what occurred was not even a judicial and legal execution in accordance with the Islamic Republic’s own laws.”

This raises questions if he was killed under torture or that he was denied proper medical care.

Ghazaleh Sharmahd voiced her disappointment with the international response, stating that neither Germany nor the United States made effective efforts to secure her father’s release. After hearing of her father’s possible execution, she said both governments reached out but “had nothing meaningful to say.” She criticized the lack of urgency and questioned why her family has yet to receive any evidence confirming his death.

The German government announced on Thursday that it would close three consulates of the Islamic Republic in response to the execution of the dual citizen, which Germany’s foreign minister labeled an assassination.

A US State Department spokesperson told Iran International in an email that the US stands with Germany in condemning the execution and supports Germany's decision to shut down Tehran’s consulates.

Iran’s judiciary, known for its history of strict sentencing in cases related to national security, typically conveys high-profile executions with clear statements. The departure from this norm in Sharmahd’s case raises concerns among legal experts and human rights advocates about whether due process was observed.