Women walking in northern Tehran, November 2024 (Vahid Salemi/AP)
Originally broadcast by The Guardian’s Today in Focus:
Iran’s Authorities Step Up Surveillance of Women to Enforce Hijab
Deepa Parent reports on women defying Iran’s laws for mandatory hijab, more than three years after the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, beaten and detained for “inappropriate attire”.
Viral videos show women riding motorbikes and dancing in the streets of Iran’s capital Tehran. Photographer Kiana Hyeri speaks of her amazement at the bare heads and crop tops.
However, Deepa notes that the relaxation over hijab is more than offset by economic problems, a water crisis, and Iran’s record number of executions. There is always the prospect of a renewed cultural crackdown by hardliners.
The very cold weather in Iran means that women are covering up, maybe wearing wooly hats rather than headscarves, and nobody is going around in a crop top: https://en.irna.ir/photo/86030514/Snow-blankets-cities-in-central-western-Iran
The summer months are when this becomes an issue again.
Rights lawyer’s memorial turns into pro-monarchy rally in Iran’s holiest city
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202512125091
Following murder of Lawyer by regime….
Iranian security forces arrest Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202512123970
Austria votes to ban headscarves in schools for girls under 14: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/11/austria-votes-ban-headscarves-schools-girls-under-14
“It sends a chilling message to young Muslim girls and boys: that their faith, and by extension their identity, is unwelcome in Austrian society. Austria’s fixation on legislating against the hijab is not about safeguarding children but about entrenching exclusion, normalising Islamophobia as mainstream politics, and signalling to a new generation of Muslims that their place in Austrian society will always be precarious.”
France is considering banning the wearing of headscarves in sports with a view to an outright ban: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/10/france-hijab-bans-sports-are-discriminatory-and-must-be-reversed-say-experts
So your #1 concern in the world is status head scarf in Austria????
khar khodeti va oon galeh goosaleh ke to ro donbal mikonan.(trying to fool the herd of cattle who follow you by diverting their attention)
False report on downing Israeli F-35 hit credibility, state TV chief says
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202512102707
Israel now realizes damage it inflicted to Iran’s ballistic missile program less severe than initially thought: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israel-now-realizes-damage-it-inflicted-to-irans-ballistic-missile-program-less-severe-than-initially-thought/
“Israel reportedly believes that the damage it inflicted on Iran’s ballistic missile program during the 12-day June war with the Islamic Republic was less severe than initially assessed. Iran currently possesses around 2,000 heavy ballistic missiles, roughly the same number it had on the eve of the war. The IDF’s military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder shared this information with visiting US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz earlier this week, Al-Monitor reports, indicating that Jerusalem is again urging Washington to act against Iran.”
We all knew this at the time.
US tried and failed to topple Iran’s government twice: https://en.isna.ir/news/1404091610401/US-official-US-tried-and-failed-to-topple-Iran-s-government
Tom Barrack admitted that “we (have) had two regime change (operations) in Iran already. Neither one worked. So I think wisely leave it to the region to solve.”
As usual, you and your koosehsher (BS)…..he was referring to 1953 and 1979. You idiot!
1979? You really think the Americans overthrew the Shah?
Iran has resumed large-scale ballistic missile production: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1bncknm11l#google_vignette
Another sign that Israel’s 12-day offensive failed to blunt Iran’s capabilities.
Lets change the channel back to current affairs….
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNnirRyiQMt/?igsh=d2M3dW04cjE2amx3
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNtBTti3A4H/?igsh=ZjdlYnRneTE2eHJy
[Editor’s Note: In fact, Iran is in the midst of a struggle between hardliners and centrists, including the Presidency, over the enforcement of hijab.
The outcome is that while many women are now enjoying the freedom to wear their hair and clothing as they wish, hardliners are agitating for a crackdown.
So there is selective enforcement of hijab in public areas such as cafes and businesses and events such as a marathon on Kish Island.]
Just to point out that the morality police has been scrapped and there is no enforcement of hijab except through surveillance and fines: https://www.albawaba.com/node/iran-dismantle-morality-police-punish-1601775
“….Iran is in the midst of a struggle between hardliners and centrists,…”
This sounds like saying “centrists” accept free will of people as far as hijab goes, nothing is farther from the truth. They are just being for strategic about it. They see this fight agitates people and in fact they so in so many words publicly. They believe this is not the time to give more reasons for people’s reaction.
Iranian Athlete Sentenced to Death Moved to Solitary Cell, Raising Execution Fears
https://iranwire.com/en/prisoners/146811-iranian-athlete-sentenced-to-death-moved-to-solitary-cell-raising-execution-fears/
‘Say He Had a Stroke’: Lawyer Who Warned UN He Was at Risk Dies Suspiciously in Iran ”
https://iranwire.com/en/features/146808-say-he-had-a-stroke-lawyer-who-warned-un-he-was-at-risk-dies-suspiciously-in-iran/
Iran puts dual national charged with spying for Israel on trial: https://www.trtworld.com/article/c1bb266238e
Iranian rights lawyer found dead, sparking allegations of state involvement
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202512067815
More on the LUCAS drones: https://www.twz.com/air/u-s-deploys-shahed-136-clones-to-middle-east-as-a-warning-to-iran
“The U.S. military has stood up its first operational unit armed with Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) kamikaze drones, a design reverse-engineered from the Iranian-designed Shahed-136, in the Middle East.”
United States to build “LUCAS” drones based on Iran’s Shahed-series: https://www.axios.com/2025/12/03/us-iran-military-drones-lucas-shahed
“Washington has in the past recovered Iranian drones, including the Shahed-101 and Shahed-131, and used them for both evidence and study.”
Trump has long wanted cheap drones like Iran developed.