Five days after Iran's morality police returned to the streets to enforce the country's mandatory veiling laws, Iran's police chief described it as a "well-intentioned" and "irreversible" mission.
At a news conference in Kerman province Thursday, police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan referred to "dealing with unveiled women" as a "religious duty and legal obligation."
Meanwhile, Iran's chief justice called on the judiciary to assign "special judges" for cases related to hijab enforcement.
The presence of the morality police had largely ceased following the nationwide anti-government protests sparked by last year's death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. Amini had been detained by Iran's morality police for allegedly wearing her headscarf too loosely.
Even while street protests have subsided, many women in Iran have publicly opposed the mandatory hijab since Amini's death.
As the anniversary of Amini's death draws near, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller conveyed his concern during a press briefing in response to a question from VOA. He said renewed "compulsory hijab" enforcement indicates "The Islamic Republic has not taken heed of the recent protests."
In May, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Iran to decriminalize mandatory veiling laws, warning that the harassment of women, including what they do or do not wear, appears to have intensified as street protests have died down.
"Women and girls face increasingly stringent legal, social, and economic measures in the authorities' enforcement of discriminatory compulsory veiling laws," Volker Türk told reporters in Geneva. "I urge the government to heed Iranians' calls for reform, and to begin by repealing regulations that criminalize non-compliance with mandatory dress codes."
In April, Iran launched a new domestic surveillance program for enforcing its mandatory hijab law.
