Iran Admits Morality Patrols Have Decreased, But Insists No Abolition Yet

Iran has denied reports, originating with comments from a senior Tehran official this weekend, that its government has abolished the country's morality police—under whose custody Mahsa Amini died.

On Sunday, several Western media reported news—covered by Iran's state media—that the country's morality police "was abolished by the same authorities who installed it," according to Attorney General Mohammad Javad Montazeri.

The statement raised suspicion among protesters, with many doubting that the measure was anything more than a ruse to quell the nationwide mass demonstrations now entering their third month.

"This is a PR move by the regime to quiet the upcoming nationwide protests," Tehran-born actor and activist Nazanin Boniadi wrote on Twitter.

"It's disinformation that Islamic Republic of Iran has abolished its morality police. It's a tactic to stop the uprising. Protesters are not facing guns and bullets to abolish morality police or forced hijab. They want to end Islamic regime," tweeted Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad.

The Iranian regime now confirmed that it has not abolished the morality police, but said patrols have decreased in recent months in the hope of appeasing the anger of protesters outraged by the death of 22-year-old Amini in September.

Montazeri's statement about security forces having reduced morality patrols in recent months was, according to Tehran, misinterpreted by Western media, who understood that the morality police had been dissolved in its entirety. According to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Iranian state media later clarified that Montazeri "was only acknowledging the reduced morality patrols rather than announcing an end to the program."

This doesn't mean that the regime won't implement any concession to protesters, such as the one mentioned by Montazeri. On December 1, the attorney general said that Iran's parliament and the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council will announce an opinion on the mandatory hijab law by December 16.

In a report by Iran's semi-official news agency ISNA on Friday, Montazeri was quoted as saying that the regime was reviewing the mandatory hijab law, which has been in place since 1983. "We are working fast on the issue of hijab and we are doing our best to come up with a thoughtful solution to deal with this phenomenon that hurts everyone's heart," Montazeri was quoted as saying.

But the ISW warns that "Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would likely view any such reform as temporary pragmatism to ensure regime survival."

The morality police, which enforces the country's Islamic dress code, arrested Amini on September 13 in Tehran, where she was visiting her brother, for "improperly" wearing her hijab, according to reports. On September 16, Amini died, having spent two days in a coma in a hospital in the capital.

According to her family and co-detainees, Amini was insulted, beaten and tortured by police while in custody.

Mass nationwide protests arose across Iran the same day as news of the woman's death broke out, and continue to this day despite the brutal crackdown by authorities.