Fifth Day of Deployment of Repressive Forces for Optional Hijab; Observers: Khamenei Has Given the 'Order for Civil War'

On the fifth day of the extensive deployment of government forces in the streets of Iran to suppress women's optional hijab, and the continuation of reports of clashes between agents and the public, some government defenders have called this action a 'plot by infiltrators,' while a group of observers states that the 'order for civil war' has been given by the leader of the Islamic Republic. Reports received by Voice of America and published on social media on Thursday, April 30, indicate that the widespread presence of special forces, police, and plainclothes agents of the Islamic Republic in the streets of various cities in Iran to suppress individual and social freedoms, including optional hijab, continues, and civil resistance from the people, especially women, remains steadfast. Government forces are mostly reported in busy urban locations, including metro stations. Additionally, visual reports from various cities indicate that special forces motorcyclists and vehicles specifically designed for suppressing protests are moving in groups through the streets, which some social media users have deemed an act aimed at 'creating fear and terror.' According to reports, alongside the extensive presence of special forces and uniformed military personnel, plainclothes individuals are also present, creating disturbances for citizens by filming them. A citizen video report from Tabriz shows a young woman protesting against a plainclothes man, who threatens her with bringing the 'police patrol' while fleeing the scene. Civil resistance from women against government forces in the streets of Iran continues despite the arrest of several women and girls, garnering support from users on social media. Fatemeh Heydari, sister of the victim Javad Heydari, who was killed during the nationwide protests in 2022 in Qazvin, referred to the arrest of Aida Shakeri, sister of Nika Shakeri, another victim of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests, writing on social media platform X: 'The struggle that the Nikas started is being continued by the Aidas.' Furthermore, Gohar Eshghi, mother of the victim Sattar Beheshti, a blogger who was killed during interrogation, stated: 'Aida Shakeri has been arrested by Khamenei's criminal executioners. Silence in the face of the war against our daughters and women means complicity with the bloodthirsty Zahak!' Omid Montana, a photographer, published an image of a young woman mocking a street sign reading 'Hijab,' calling it 'a sign of the struggle of these days.' Ehsan Badaghi, a journalist, posed the question: 'Why do some authorities in the regime think that creating these scenes in the streets will yield better results than public discontent and anger?' He stated that the Islamic Republic has 'traveled this disastrous path once before with the morality police.' On the other hand, following the return of the morality police to the streets under the new name 'Light Plan,' some pro-government users have deemed this action detrimental to the regime and 'the work of infiltrators.' Among them, Siraj Mirdamadi, a political activist residing in France, stated that 'deterrence based on the public's consent is more important than military and missile deterrence. Just as Iran's drone/missile attacks on Israel were a sign of power, the renewed activity of the #morality_police and the hijab and chastity plan is a sign of the regime's weakness. If the regime insists on not understanding this obvious fact, know that it is the infiltrators' plot.' In contrast, a group of users, recalling the recent statements of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, and rejecting the theory of 'infiltrators' plots, emphasized that the order has come from above. Ehsan Soltani, a political analyst, rejected the claim that 'these morality police decisions are the work of infiltrators,' stating: 'Khamenei officially said two weeks ago, 'Hijab is a religious obligation; whether you accept it or not, it must be observed.' For three decades, whenever he made a decision, he hid or said, 'I am not an expert'; this time he came forward and gave the order for civil war.' Observers thus hold Ali Khamenei personally responsible for the extensive actions of government officials, as one day after the Islamic Republic leader emphasized the necessity of increasing pressure to enforce what he called 'observance of Islamic principles,' the police commander announced that starting Saturday, April 25, strict measures for enforcing mandatory hijab would increase. Ali Khamenei had previously described the removal of hijab as a return to the Pahlavi era and termed it 'a return to the disgraceful state of the tyrant.' At the same time as the prominent presence of forces suppressing optional hijab in the streets of Iran, fifteen religious reformists have emphasized in a statement that 'the era of either hijab or beating is over.'