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- Iran's strike on Israel coincides with crackdown on dissent at home
Iran's strike on Israel coincides with crackdown on dissent at home
'That is part of the rulers' strategy to consolidate their grip on power when the country faces threats from its arch enemy Israel,' a former Iranian official told Reuters
On the day Iran launched its first ever direct attack on Israel, Tehran embarked on a less-noticed confrontation at home, ordering police in several cities to arrest women accused of flouting its strict Islamic dress code.
As Iran's drone and missile assault unfolded earlier in April, Tehran Police chief Abbasali Mohammadian went on state TV to announce the new campaign. "Starting today, Police in Tehran and other cities will carry out measures against those who violate the hijab law," he said.
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Social media reports suggested a heavy morality police presence in the capital Tehran and videos of police violently arresting women, including plainclothes security forces dragging young women into police vans.
"That is part of the rulers' strategy to consolidate their grip on power when the country faces threats from its arch enemy Israel," a former Iranian official told Reuters.
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According to the report, Iranian authorities insist that their so-called Nour (Light) campaign targets businesses and individuals who defy the hijab law citing demands from citizens who express anger about the growing number of unveiled women in public. However, activists and opposition say the campaign seeks to discourage any wider dissent at a vulnerable moment for the clerical rulers.
"It is no coincidence that on the very day of the attack on Israel, police flooded the streets. They were concerned about the resurgence of unrest," said an activist, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.
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Under Iran's sharia, or Islamic law, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes, which has become a political flashpoint after the morality police killed 22-year-old Mahsa Amini back in 2022. Since then, in a show of civil disobedience, unveiled women have frequently appeared in public.