Protesters in Iran have called for a three-day strike this week, escalating pressure on the government after conflicting reports about the fate of the morality police. The force's detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman, sparked months of unrest following her death in custody in September.
The attorney general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, said on Saturday that the morality police had been shut down, but state media distanced themselves from the claim, noting he was not responsible for overseeing the force. The interior ministry, which oversees the unit, has not confirmed the closure. Lawmaker Nezamoddin Mousavi said after a meeting with senior officials that the government was 'paying attention to the people’s real demands', without addressing the reported shutdown.
Montazeri also said the government was reviewing the law on compulsory hijab, a key issue driving the protests. The activist HRANA news agency reported 470 people have been killed since the unrest began, including 64 minors. Protesters have called for a rally in Tehran’s Azadi Square on Wednesday alongside the economic strike.
US special envoy Rob Malley said Iran’s leadership had locked itself into a 'vicious cycle' of repression and sanctions, and that Washington was focused on Iran’s support for Russia in Ukraine and internal crackdowns rather than nuclear talks. A senior European diplomat described Iran’s alliance with Russia as an 'unholy alliance' and a 'massive miscalculation', adding that the regime had 'lost contact with their people' after 43 years.
The US is expected to table a motion to remove Iran from the UN Committee on the Status of Women in a vote on 14 December, Malley said. Some European diplomats believe an irreversible turning point has been reached, with internal tensions over how to handle the protests and a growing debate about reducing Iran’s isolation.
