Police Claim: 'Noor Plan' Moves Towards 'Smart Technology'; Ongoing War Against Women in the Streets

More than 10 days after the crackdown on Iranian women and the government's alignment against the people, known as the 'Noor Plan', the leadership of the Islamic Republic's Law Enforcement Force (FARAJA) issued a new statement announcing that this plan will move towards smart technology. The statement emphasized that 'malicious media outlets against the Iranian nation are seeking to create divisions and polarization in society' through the implementation of the 'Noor Plan', but with 'the cooperation and collaboration of the people and elites with the police, the dignity, privacy, and respect of Iranian women have been preserved.' FARAJA also claimed to have discovered 'criminal networks' and stated that important cases involving organized crime syndicates engaged in corruption, prostitution, sex trafficking, pornography, etc., will be published in the coming days. The statement addressed criticisms of the Islamic Republic's longstanding approach to case fabrication, asserting that 'the police are not seeking to fabricate cases for normative and value-related issues in any circumstance.' Alongside this statement, the Law Enforcement Force and security agencies' crackdown on the people under the pretext of mandatory hijab has intensified. Accordingly, simultaneously with the tightening of restrictions against individual and social freedoms in Iran, one of the Islamic Republic's police officials announced on Monday, April 22, the entry of the 'Public Security Police' into cyberspace 'in line with the implementation of the Noor Plan', reporting the 'cleansing and blocking' of 21 popular Instagram pages in the western province of Tehran. Kiomars Azizi, the police commander of western Tehran, cited 'the publication of inappropriate and norm-breaking images' as the reason for blocking these 21 popular pages on social media and threatened users with repercussions, claiming continuous surveillance of various social media pages. Additionally, Mohammad Hossein Taheri Akhardi, the secretary of the 'Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Headquarters', stated that 'the Noor Plan is a security operation' and that FARAJA is directly involved with this plan. This initiative is being implemented with widespread support from all branches of the regime and has taken on a harsher tone with the involvement of security agencies. In this context, Ahmad Alamolhoda, representative of Ali Khamenei in Khorasan Razavi province, assessed the police's approach to women as 'successful', and Abdolhossein Ghabishavi, Khamenei's representative in Abadan, called on the police, Basij forces, and the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Headquarters to confront women with optional clothing more extensively, referring to the issuance of the 'Chastity and Hijab Law'. Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, in his speech during the Eid al-Fitr prayer on Wednesday, April 10, issued a new command to the 'promoters of virtue', whom he previously described as 'fire at will', urging them to 'confront religious norm-breaking'. Hours after Khamenei's directive, the police announced that they would implement the plan to confront women's optional clothing starting Saturday, April 13. Amnesty International, in a report published in March 2023, stated: 'Iranian authorities are trying to eliminate resistance to mandatory hijab following nationwide protests for women, life, freedom, attempting to instill fear in women and girls, disrupting their daily lives and causing severe psychological distress.' Yesterday, Robert Gilchrist, a senior official at the U.S. State Department's Office of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, expressed concern about the deteriorating human rights record of the Islamic Republic in 2023, especially regarding women's rights in Iran, coinciding with the release of the State Department's annual report. Gilchrist, in response to a question from a Voice of America reporter regarding the intensified crackdown on women in Iran, stated that the situation for Iranian women is worsening day by day, that they are struggling with discrimination, and that they are punished and imprisoned for opposing the government's imposed hijab. The new dimensions of the crackdown on women in Iran under the pretext of mandatory hijab; users: the Noor Plan is a plan of force. The blocking of 21 popular Instagram pages; restrictions against individual freedoms in Iran are intensifying. Message from Sediqe Vosoughi from Evin: The Islamic Republic has no valid justification for its 'ridiculous mandatory hijab policy'. Narges Mohammadi's account of the transfer of Dina Ghalibaf to Evin 'with a bruised body': the authoritarian regime has brought a full-scale war to the streets. Accounts from students about the security forces' crackdown; entering university with fear and anxiety. The secretary of the 'Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Headquarters' confirmed the establishment of the 'Hijab Headquarters' by Raisi under the supervision of the Minister of Interior. Preventing students from entering the Polytechnic University of Tehran; the 'Noor Plan' has reached universities.