Iran protesters call for 3-day strike as pressure builds
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An Iranian young woman looks on as she and her mother walk along the Tehran Grand Bazaar on Dec. 3. Photo: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Iranian protesters on Sunday called for a three-day strike this week, as the protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country's morality police continued into their third month, Reuters reported.
Why it matters: The call for a strike comes amid conflicting reports that Iran's morality police had been abolished.
Driving the news: Speaking at an event Saturday, Iran's Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said that the morality police is separate from the judiciary, according to the semi-official ILNA news agency, Reuters reported.
- "The same authority which has established this police has shut it down," he added. The judiciary "continues to monitor behavioral actions at the community level," he said.
- The remarks were quickly picked up by Western media outlets. Al Alam state television acknowledged that foreign media had reported the story, but stressed that no official had confirmed it and that the most that could be gleaned from Montazeri's remarks was that the morality police and judiciary have always been separate.
- State media outlets emphasized that Interior Ministry, and not Montazeri, is in charge of overseeing the morality police, CNN reported. The Interior Ministry has not confirmed the move.
Between the lines: Even if Iran abolished the morality police, the law that imposes the mandatory dress code for women remains in effect and can still be enforced. There has been no indication that the law will be terminated, Al Jazeera reported.
The big picture: The three-day economic strike is expected to be accompanied by a rally to Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square on Wednesday, the same day President Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to address students in Tehran to mark Student Day, per Reuters.
- Protesters have called for the boycott of any economic activity beginning Monday, per CBC.
- Hundreds of people have been killed in the protests, which began in September and quickly spread to several Iranian cities. Police claimed Amini, 22, was not mistreated in custody. But her family has cast doubt on those claims, saying she had no pre-existing conditions and blaming authorities for her death.
- Iranian officials without evidence have blamed the protests on foreign entities, including the U.S. and Israel.
