Mohammad Reza Bahoner, member of Iran’s Expediency Council, has recanted earlier remarks opposing mandatory hijab, calling it a "social necessity" and demanding punishment for those who challenge it during an appearance on Iran’s state broadcaster on Saturday.
Bahonar had previously caused a stir by saying there was no longer any basis for enforcing hijab laws.
“The era of running a country through mandatory hijab laws is over,” Bahoner said in a debate aired by Entekhab on October 4, adding that the Supreme National Security Council had cut the hijab legislation, rendering it unenforceable.
In a separate meeting with journalists, Bahoner said, “Some insist hijab must be compulsory. I’ve never believed in mandatory hijab—not from the beginning, and not now.”
Those remarks drew swift backlash from conservative figures and media, including Kayhan newspaper, which operates under the supervision of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office. The spokesperson for the Expediency Council, Mohsen Dehnavi, distanced the body from Bahoner’s statements, writing on X on Saturday that his comments “do not reflect the official views or legal standing of the Council.”
On Friday, Tehran’s interim Friday prayer leader Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari rebuked Bahoner without naming him. “Who are you to speak like that? Who gave you permission? Why do you speak on behalf of the system?” he asked from the pulpit.
Facing mounting pressure, Bahoner walked back his remarks during a televised interview on October 11, aligning himself with hardliners. “In our system, boundaries must be clear. Whoever breaks these norms will be treated the same as someone who violates security or economic rules,” he said.
He equated cultural dissent with national security threats, saying, “Publications and media that undermine cultural norms are just as damaging to society as security breaches.”
His reversal comes amid a wave of government actions against businesses across Iran, including the sealing of cafes and restaurants accused of failing to enforce hijab rules. Police issued a fresh directive on October 9, warning all public venues to adhere to hijab regulations or face closure.
The report said the directive, approved by the cabinet on September 18 and issued on October 5, sets out a roadmap to gradually increase gasoline prices and restructure fuel subsidies. The plan would widen the price gap between gasoline and compressed natural gas to encourage drivers to switch to gas-powered vehicles.
It also mandates new consumption quotas and introduces multiple pricing tiers, meaning fuel purchases beyond the allotted share would be charged at a higher rate. Consumers would additionally bear the costs of transportation and fuel station commissions, while prices would rise annually in line with inflation. The directive says that next year, gasoline allocations will be granted in monetary value rather than volume.
Hours after the publication, Ali Ahmadnia, head of the government’s information office, denied any decision to increase fuel prices, calling the report inaccurate.
“The issue of revising fuel prices may arise in the next year’s budget,” Reza Sepahvand, a member of parliament’s energy committee, said on October 10. “Real cost of producing and importing gasoline, electricity, and gas is far higher than current retail prices, and maintaining this gap places a growing financial burden on the state,” he added.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has previously proposed reducing fuel subsidies for high-consuming households and redirecting the savings toward low-income groups. Similar pledges during past price hikes were never fulfilled.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also said last month that the government sells gasoline “at a price far below its supply cost,” adding that “continuing this situation is not in the country’s economic interest.”
Public backlash over leaked plan
The Khaneh Eghtesad report prompted a surge of online criticism, with many Iranians expressing fear that a price hike would worsen inflation and disproportionately affect poorer citizens.
One user on X, identified as Hadi Zarei, wrote: “According to the new government decree, gasoline will also become more expensive — adjusted to inflation. Apparently, the only thing unrelated to inflation is workers’ wages, which barely rise 20% a year.”
“Not only will gasoline prices go up, but consumers will also pay the transport and delivery costs to fuel stations,” another user, Mahbod, commented.
The controversy followed weeks of official debate over rising fuel consumption, environmental damage, and the financial strain of subsidies. State media, however, largely avoided discussing the inflationary impact of a potential price rise.
Several users also pointed to the irony of the government’s reported fuel reform while pledging to send free fuel to Lebanon — a reference to comments by Iran’s ambassador in Beirut, Mojtaba Amani, who said on October 10 that Tehran had offered Lebanon free fuel shipments, which Beirut declined.
Iran’s last major gasoline price increase in November 2019 triggered nationwide protests that were met with a violent crackdown, leaving at least 1,500 people dead and thousands detained, according to rights groups.
The event, held in a café where participants appeared in what officials described as “unorthodox attire,” has renewed debate over the government’s role in regulating how citizens dress in public, Mehr News reported on Saturday.
“Authorities had effectively distanced themselves from responsibility, preferring inaction to a defined policy, even as disagreements over personal freedoms and appearance grow more visible across society,” wrote Mehr.
According to Iranian law, the national Working Group for the Regulation of Fashion and Clothing — established under a 2006 act of parliament — is charged with promoting clothing designs “reflecting Iranian-Islamic culture” and guiding the domestic market toward local styles while discouraging “foreign or unfamiliar models.”
The body has failed to meet those goals, Mehr reported. “The current state of fashion shows the neglect of this working group,” the outlet wrote, adding that “there is no sign of guidance in production or marketing.”
According to a 2022 survey by independent Netherlands-based research group GAMAAN, over 70 percent of men and women in Iran opposed mandatory hijab laws.
In Iran, the mandatory hijab serves not only as a religious practice but also as a political emblem woven into the state’s identity. Since 1979, its mandatory observance has been portrayed as a sign of revolutionary integrity and defiance toward Western cultural influence.
For hardliners, enforcing the hijab affirms the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy, while resistance to it is seen as defiance of state authority. As a result, women’s clothing has become a persistent political fault line.
Since the death in morality police custody of Mahsa "Jina" Amini in September 2022, many Iranian women have continued to reject compulsory hijab laws, turning individual gestures of dissent into a broader collective challenge. In Tehran and other major cities, appearing unveiled in public has increasingly become an everyday act of resistance.
Broader debate over hijab enforcement
The controversy unfolded as senior clerics and lawmakers renewed calls for strict hijab enforcement, despite the visible defiance of women and girls across Iran.
At a joint session of the Assembly of Experts, member Hashem Hosseini-Bushehri said “both cultural and economic neglect had caused distress among religious authorities and the public.”
“If the issue of hijab is not managed properly, it will worsen like a cracked dam,” Mojtaba Zolnour, a parliament member from Qom, warned Friday. He accused parliament’s leadership of inaction.
Friday prayer leaders nationwide echoed similar messages in coordinated sermons. Tehran’s temporary prayer leader Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari urged “observance of modesty in public,” while Shahrekord’s cleric Mostafa Hashemi said hijab was “a divine obligation, not a personal right,” and that neglecting it “disturbs the community’s psychological peace.”
Despite such rhetoric, the government has quietly suspended enforcement of a strict hijab bill amid fears of renewed protests.
Conservative figure Mohammad-Reza Bahonar said in a recent interview that “the era of ruling the country by forcing hijab through law is over,” adding that the Supreme National Security Council had cut the bill.
Yet in recent weeks, authorities have sealed cafés and restaurants across cities for noncompliance after outcry by hardliners. Police warned that all businesses “must observe current laws,” signaling that Iran’s long-running struggle over dress and personal freedom remains unresolved.
Bakhtegan, once the province’s largest wetland, has been dry for over 14 years, ILNA said in its report. “Except for a very small area, no water is visible.”
An environmental activist described the situation of Iran’s wetlands as deeply alarming. “The condition of wetlands is now very dire, and it seems that no specific body has taken responsibility for them,” Sirus Zare said in remarks cited by ILNA.
Dried wetlands have become new sources of dust storms, he warned. “Wetlands are naturally low-lying areas that have accumulated pollutants over thousands of years. Once dry, they turn into active dust centers that spread toxic particles,” he said.
Nationwide ecological collapse
The report linked the crisis to Iran’s overuse of groundwater and mismanaged water projects that have reduced the natural flow to lakes and wetlands nationwide. As a result, nine major wetlands dried up by the end of the last water year.
The Karun River, Iran’s longest waterway at more than 950 kilometers, is also nearing an environmental disaster, according to the report.
Further north, Lake Urmia has nearly disappeared after years of warnings from environmentalists. The lake now holds only about 100 million cubic meters of saline water spread over 200 square kilometers, with an average depth of less than half a meter. Experts say the lake is “practically dead” and may evaporate completely within days.
Expanding water crisis
Even Gilan province, one of Iran’s rainiest regions, faces shrinking wetlands. Gilan’s governor, Hadi Heghshenas, said in September that “If no solution is found, Anzali Wetland — an international ecosystem — will fall silent completely.”
On October 10, coinciding with the annual Zayandeh-Roud River Day, concerns mounted over the critical state of the river in the central Isfahan province. Lawmaker Abbas Moghtadaei blamed the Energy Ministry for failures in managing the crisis, saying land subsidence, dust storms, and shortages of drinking and irrigation water stem from mismanagement.
Environmentalists warned that ignoring water rights reflects systemic neglect of national water laws and deepening inequities in resource management.