Turmoil in Iran: A senior official who was recorded having sex with a man was deposed

Iran has been in turmoil in recent days following the disclosure of documentation of Reza Tsaghati, a local official in the field of Islamic religion and culture, having sex with a man. The documentation, which quickly spread on social networks, provoked great outrage in Iran and has already led to the ouster of Tsaghati.Reza Tasghati served until recently as the head of Islamic culture and instruction in the Gilan province of Iran, and was associated with the establishment of institutions that encouraged the compulsion to wear the hijab and Islamic piety. Following the events, the authorities in Iran opened an investigation and Tsaghati was officially removed from his position.

Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili, Iran’s culture minister, said there had been no previous similar reports involving Tasghati before the provocative video was released. It is evident that the event creates a great deal of discomfort among the top officials of the regime in Tehran, after a tense year in the field of enforcing Sharia law and Islamic Halacha.

It appears that the regime’s quick reaction in the removal of Tsaghati was intended first and foremost to signal a distinct intolerance for any manifestation of behavior that goes against Islamic laws in the country. This step, along with the return of the modesty police, sends a message that the Iranian regime is not interested in moving into the agenda with such a nature of behavior, such as women who appear in the public space in a demonstration without an adequate head covering.

In about a month and a half, Iran will mark the anniversary of the death of Mehsa Amini, the young woman who was beaten to death by Iranian chastity guards – and her death ignited the hijab protests, which have apparently died down in recent months. In recent weeks, Iran has resumed the activity of the modesty police, after a long period in which it disappeared from the streets. According to a report by Amnesty International, between the months of April and June of this year, more than a million text messages (messages SMS) For the women who were recorded on the enforcement cameras appearing in public without a head covering or a partial head covering.