Iran International
A significant rift has emerged within Iran's ultra-hardliner faction following a prominent lawmaker’s unprecedented criticism of protests by radicals to pressure authorities into enforcing a tough hijab law.
The decision of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) not to enforce the controversial law could not have been made without the approval of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has avoided discussing the issue in his speeches for months.
Enforcing the morality legislation—which imposes severe penalties, including heavy fines and prison sentences on women who violate strict hijab rules, as well as businesses that fail to comply—could be highly provocative under current conditions, potentially sparking widespread anti-government protests.
Internal clash over the enforcement of the hijab law
Mahmoud Nabavian, a senior member of the hardline Paydari (Steadfastness) Party and the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, is facing backlash from his allies after condemning recent protests led by radical elements. His remarks have surprised many within his faction, where he was long regarded as a key figure and a strict enforcer of their agenda.
Despite playing a key role in drafting the hijab legislation, Nabavian now argues that preserving the Islamic Republic must take precedence over enforcing the law—implicitly acknowledging the risk of unrest. “If implementing the hijab law creates tensions and weakens the system, it should automatically be set aside,” he said last week.
According to the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ruhollah Khomeini, preserving the system must take “utmost priority,” even if it requires temporarily setting aside religious obligations like prayer and fasting. By that logic, hijab would be no exception—a stance authorities now seem compelled to accept, much to the frustration of the hardline political and religious establishment.
Concerns over national stability
Nabavian justified the security council’s suspension of the hijab law by pointing to major geopolitical developments—the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. He argued that enforcing the law at this time could provide foreign adversaries with an opportunity to destabilize Iran.
“Given the country’s and the region’s current conditions, especially the situation in Yemen, and the need for national unity, we must all support the implementation of the law but polarizing the society, calling for illegal gatherings, and staging street protests—no matter the faction—are against the country’s interests,” Nabavian warned in an X post on Sunday. His remarks came after the US military launched massive airstrikes against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen on Saturday.
Hasan Soleimani, editor-in-chief of the hardline Mashregh News, a publication believed to be linked to the Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Organization (SAS), defended Nabavian’s position. In an X post, he accused radical hardliners of using the hijab issue as a pretext to disrupt the country’s stability. He went further, comparing them to the Forqan group—an Islamist faction that carried out assassinations against officials of the newly established Islamic Republic, including a failed attempt on Khamenei’s life in 1981.
Highlighting defiance of Khamenei’s decisions
Nabavian also accused ultra-hardliners—whom he refers to as “super-revolutionaries” or “radicals”—of openly defying Khamenei, citing their opposition to Covid vaccination. “I won’t even mention the disgraceful remarks they made [about Khamenei’s own vaccination],” he said last week. He also linked their defiance to more recent criticism over Iran’s two-month delay in 2024 before retaliating against Israel’s attack on Iranian military facilities—a decision ultimately made by Khamenei.
Similarly, if Khamenei decides to permit direct talks with the Trump administration in the coming weeks or months, ultra-hardliners’ reaction could pose a significant challenge. He ruled out the possibility of such talks in a recent speech and has so far not acknowledged the US President’s letter to him. Former President Hassan Rouhani suggested a few days ago that Khamenei’s stance could change depending on circumstances, as it did in 2013 when he allowed secret talks with the US.
Warnings of a fragile political climate
Citing the hardliners' protests in Mashhad against moderate conservative Hassan Rouhani’s government on December 28, 2017, some media outlets and analysts have warned that demonstrations organized by “super-revolutionaries” could similarly spiral out of control.
The Mashhad protests quickly spread nationwide, with demonstrators in several cities chanting against Khamenei. The weeklong unrest resulted in at least 25 deaths and thousands of arrests.
However, the current situation is fundamentally different from 2017, an article in the reformist Etemad daily warned on Sunday. It pointed to Trump's presence in the White House and heightened regional tensions, citing a statement from the Supreme National Security Council Secretariat that cautioned any provocation or political polarization could cause irreparable damage to the country.
Government Spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Sunday that Zarif's resignation, announced amid controversy over his children's US citizenship, has not been officially accepted, emphasizing that his appointment has not been revoked, nor has a replacement been named.
"From the government's perspective, Zarif remains the Strategic Affairs Vice-President," Mohajerani said. "Dr. Zarif's vice presidency remains valid, though he is absent from government meetings."
Zarif announced his resignation earlier this month, citing pressure from the Judiciary and a desire to "prevent further pressure on the government" after criticism from hardliners who cited a 2022 law banning officials with dual citizenship or close relatives with dual citizenship from holding sensitive positions.
Mohajerani also addressed concerns about other officials with dual citizenship. "If the law is to be enforced, it must apply uniformly across all branches of government," she added.
Mohajerani revealed that Zarif had met with President Masoud Pezeshkian after submitting his resignation, where she said they discussed "Zarif's capabilities, impact, and unique experiences".
Though she said "the text he released indicated a kind of resignation", she went on to say: “The Vice-President for Strategic Affairs resigned from his position to prevent harm to the President, the government, and the country."
Zarif's resignation sparked sharp political reactions in Iran, with hardliners celebrating his exit and reformists warning of its broader implications.
His departure came less than four weeks after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reaffirmed his opposition to negotiations with the United States, a stance that undermined Zarif’s role in the government.
It was widely perceived that Zarif joined the Pezeshkian administration to help negotiate another nuclear deal with world powers similar to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was scrapped by Donald Trump during his first term in office.
However, Khamenei, the country's ultimate decision-maker, rejected the idea of talks with Trump last month.
Reformist commentators have warned that Zarif’s resignation, coming shortly after the impeachment of Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati, signals growing instability within Pezeshkian’s administration.
Despite the wage hike, workers' representatives had demanded at least a 70% increase to keep pace with inflation.
The council did not issue a decision on housing allowances, leaving it at 9 million rials ($9.50) per month, while rent for a 50-square-meter apartment in Tehran averages 150 million rials ($160) per month.
Hussein-Ali Haji Deligani, a member of parliament, dismissed the 45% wage increase as insufficient in the country's collapsing economy.
“With 100 million rials ($106), a family cannot survive,” he said, calling for a fundamental adjustment of wages to match inflation.
The increase is 10 percentage points higher than last year’s 35% wage increase, but some lawmakers emphasized that percentage gains mean little when purchasing power declines.
Mojtaba Yousefi, an MP from Ahvaz, pointed out that “when wages rise slower than inflation, workers’ real income drops by 20%.”
According to Iran’s labor law, the minimum wage must be set in accordance with inflation and provide for a household’s basic needs.
Inflation has been consistently around 50 percent and the economic crisis has significantly diminished the purchasing power of ordinary Iranians, leading to tens of millions falling into the category of working poor.
Experts highlight that the poverty line for Tehran residents is approximately 300,000,000 rials (approx. $600) per month, three times the current minimum wage.
Ali Babaei Karnami, head of the parliamentary Social Committee, previously said that any increase below 50% would be “a deviation from the law.” He also cited reports estimating a household’s essential expenses at 260 million rials ($277) per month, more than twice the newly set minimum wage.
Under the new system, a married worker with two children will see their total monthly income rise from 116.9 million rials ($124) to 163.5 million rials ($174), while a single worker without seniority will earn 134.9 million rials ($144), up from 94.6 million rials ($101).
Each year, Iran’s labor ministry convenes negotiations between worker and employer representatives, but two key factors ultimately determine wages: the government’s salary increases in the annual budget and the inflation rate reported by the country’s statistics agency.
Critics argue that raising wages without broader economic reforms risks fueling further inflation while failing to improve workers’ real incomes. At least one third of Iran now lives below the poverty line.
In dollar terms, wages have barely grown due to the weakening rial, leaving many workers effectively poorer despite nominal increases.