Is the morality police abolished in Iran? Is the regime retreating?

Baku/12.05.22/Turan: Such influential publications as “The Guardian” and “Al Arabiya” write about the abolition of the morality police in Iran. But the state broadcaster of the Islamic Republic of Iran and high-ranking officials have not yet confirmed this report. According to reports, it was adopted against the backdrop of mass protests that have been going on for more than two months.

There have also been reports that the government may be reviewing a law requiring women to wear the hijab.

The Iranian political commentator Karim Asgari talks about the events taking place in Iran in the "Difficult question" program.

According to him, "the abolition of the vice police" is a topic thrown up by Iran's Attorney General Mohammad Jaafar Montazeri.

“Actually, this structure was created under the presidency of Ahmed Nejat. Can this statement be considered a concession? Considering Montazeri's talk of abolishing the vice police amid large-scale protests in Iran, this is only a small step backwards. And is the regime really ready to give in?” Asgari said.

In his opinion, the future will tell how real the theocracy's readiness to make concessions is.

“The talk is about  the hijab, one of the most important attributes of the regime. For 43 years, the Iranian regime has not made any concessions on this issue. Will it make concessions now?" the observer said.

Asgari drew attention to the specifics of the Iranian protest in 2022.

“After 2010, serious tectonic shifts began to occur in many countries of the Middle East. They happened in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Libya, and are still going on in Syria. Shifts are taking place in Iran as well, but unlike in other countries, the protesters in Iran are more secular and liberal than protesters in other countries. And this is very important,” he stressed.

According to Asghari, in Iran, the younger generation opposes the theocratic regime. The protesters are women, youth and the liberal section of society.

The protesters can be conditionally divided into 2 camps. In Iran, there is a “protest of 43 years” and there is a “protest of 100 years”. After the Qajars, with the advent of Pahlavi, the ideology of pan-Iranism and Persian chauvinism reigned in the country. Later, after the 1979 revolution, despite all the structural political changes, Pan-Iranism and Persian chauvinism continued to be cultivated. This is the reason for the protest of "100 years" - the protest of the Turks, Baluchis, Kurds and Arabs. The  “protest of 43 years” is a protest against the theocratic regime established 43 years ago. It is strong too,” says Asgari.

But will the protests in Iran turn into a revolution?

“The future will tell. But it is already clear that the former Iran will no longer exist,” he said.--0--