Iran’s attorney general seemed to indicate that the country’s moral police might be a thing of the past, but then local reports suggested that rumors of the organization’s demise might be greatly exaggerated.
Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri spoke about the Orientation Patrol, which deals with issues such as dress code enforcement, during a religious conference, according to the BBC.
“The morality police had nothing to do with the judiciary and have been shut down from where they were installed,” Montazeri said, adding that the judicial system would “oversee behavioral actions at the community level.”
Local media later said Montazeri’s words were “misinterpreted,” the outlet reported.
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FILE – In this photo taken by a non-Associated Press employee and obtained by AP outside Iran, Iranians protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained by morality police, in Tehran. Iran, October 1, 2022.
(AP)
Recent protests against the Islamic regime in Iran followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in September after she was reportedly beaten by morality police for not wearing a hijab.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian would not confirm or deny the rumors about the morality police when asked about Montazeri’s statement.
“In Iran, everything is progressing well within the framework of democracy and freedom,” he said, according to the BBC.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby spoke in general terms about the morality police, saying Monday that the White House “will allow Tehran to speak about its decisions regarding the morality police.” .
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Iranian police arrive to disperse a protest marking 40 days since the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, whose tragedy sparked Iran’s biggest anti-government movement in more than a decade, in Tehran, Iran, on 26 October 2022.
(AP)
Kirby noted that the United States has been “very clear about our position on the morality police and their role in the violent suppression of protesters and their role in the death of Mahsa Amini because we sanctioned them.”
The end of the morality police would indicate that Tehran is caving in to the protesters to some degree, but Foreign Desk editor-in-chief Lisa Daftari says this is exactly the impression Iran’s leaders want to give.
“Many woke up to the news that Iran will dismantle its so-called moral police and believed that closing down this particular arm of the regime would and could bring about significant change and reform in Iran,” Daftari said. “That is what the regime wants people, including the West, to believe, which is why such a rumor would circulate.”
Daftari opined that even if moral policing is really a thing of the past, this would not be enough to change things on the ground.
“The Iranian people are not going to be reassured by any reform at this time,” he said. “They have shown themselves and the world that they are seeking regime change and they won’t be satisfied with anything less than that.”
