Three years after the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody and subsequent protests which were quashed with deadly force, the mood among Iranians has only darkened, with many pointing to hardships that increasingly shape daily life.
In response to Iran International query asking viewers what had changed since her death and the igniting of the Woman, Life, Freedom protest movement, most said life had become ever harder.
“Every day people fall deeper into ruin: more penniless, more unemployed, more hungry. There’s no water, power, or gas in places. Killings and violence have increased,” another message said.
Many Iranians are grappling with shortages of water and electricity and cited the mounting toll of high inflation and broader economic strain.
Sanctions, corruption and mismanagement have plagued Iran's economy for decades.
The wave of civil disobedience especially among women and girls continues subtly across Iran and has even spread to many traditionally religious cities.
“We’re in Mashhad. Even though it’s a religious city, many women come out with freer dress. I used to wear the chador, but since Mahsa I no longer wear hijab. Men have also changed. They’re united with the women,” one respondent said.
Other messages confirm that civil disobedience over dress codes and open defiance of Islamic regulations is widespread across the country.
“Women this year gained a little more freedom in dress. Men wear shorts and tank tops in public now. The government is failing on the hijab issue, but a woman still cannot claim her rights even in a court. Child laborers and people sleeping in cardboard boxes remain — poverty is rampant,” a caller said.
Patchy enforcement
A harsh new sanctions and chastity bill passed by the hardliner-dominated parliament was frozen by Iran's top security body this year in an apparent bid by the theocracy to forestall further unrest.
Some messages suggested that in affluent areas, obedience to the Islamic dress code has collapsed almost entirely, but that the trend was far from universal.
“The Mahsa movement caused the costly system of forced hijab to crumble. But in practice nothing changed, it got worse," in person said.
"A few women walking unveiled in the streets only benefits the wealthy; it does nothing for the millions who are starving. In fact, those who were killed and injured suffered the most. There’s no benefit for the poor.”
Beyond shortages of water and electricity, callers pointed to critical deficits in health and food supplies.
There are reports of shortages of essential medicines including treatments for rare diseases, cancer and chronic illnesses, as well as a scarcity of powdered milk and infant formula.
Rising food inflation has placed basic staples out of reach for many families. Still, messages of hope and a desire for change are widespread.
“Life has become much harder financially, socially and psychologically," one respondent said, "but we feel that a small spark, one small spark could become the final ax to tear down this tree of oppression."
“Iran has yet to take the reasonable and precise actions necessary to reach an extension of resolution 2231,” the German Foreign Office said on social media after a call between the E3 – Britain, France and Germany – the EU’s foreign policy chief and Iran’s foreign minister.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that the call was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon but warned that Tehran could take reciprocal measures if pressured.
“If other parties fail to fulfill their commitments or seek to pressure Iran through coercive means, naturally no one can claim that Iran must remain committed to the agreement,” he told reporters in Tehran.
Baghaei also rejected US criticism of Iran’s missile program, saying Washington had no authority to dictate the country’s defense policy. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to preserve its independence at any cost and firmly resist the excessive demands of foreign powers -- including the United States and Israel,” he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Jerusalem earlier this week alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Iran’s missile ambitions already threaten Persian Gulf states and Europe.
“A nuclear Iran governed by a radical Shia cleric that possesses not just nuclear weapons potentially, but the missiles that could deliver those weapons far away is an unacceptable risk,” Rubio said, vowing continued “maximum economic pressure” until Tehran changes course.
According to Iranian outlets including Ensaf News, the court found Seghati (also Seqati) guilty of “lavat tafkhizi,” a same-sex act defined under Iran’s Islamic penal code as non-penetrative sexual contact between men.
Both Seghati and the other man seen in a leaked video were handed 100 lashes and prison exile terms of one and two years respectively, reports said.
Iran’s penal code prescribes severe punishments for same-sex relations, including flogging and, in cases of penetrative intercourse or repeat offenses, the death penalty. Rights groups have long criticized these provisions, but Iranian authorities say they are enforcing Islamic law.
The scandal began in July 2023 when a video surfaced online allegedly showing Seghati engaged in sexual activity with another man. The leak led to his dismissal from office and triggered a political storm due to his past role as a vocal enforcer of Iran’s mandatory hijab rules.
Ensaf News, citing an image of the judgment, also reported that the son of a former senior Gilan official was sentenced to 10 years in prison and exile for orchestrating what authorities described as a criminal network that used secretly recorded videos to discredit rivals. Other defendants are said to remain under investigation.
