Iran has abolished its morality police, the state media reported, after months of protests set off by the death of a young woman who was detained for supposedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress laws.
The morality police “was abolished by the same authorities who installed it,” Attorney General Mohammad Javad Montazeri said, according to state media reports. The country’s theocratic government has neither confirmed nor denied the abolition. If the force is abolished, the change will be unlikely to appease the protesters who continue to clash with other security forces.
There were suggestions that the government might be trying to play down the significance of Montazeri’s remarks. One state television channel said that the comments had been taken out of context, and other state channels said the government was not backing down from the hijab law, which requires women to cover their hair and wear loosefitting robes.
Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, did not deny the abolishment of the law but said, “In Iran, everything is moving forward well in the framework of democracy and freedom.” Days earlier, he said the authorities were reviewing the law and would issue a decision within 15 days.
