Iran Revives “Modesty Situation Room” Amid Economic Strains

Iran Revives “Modesty Situation Room” Amid Economic Strains

Tehran’s provincial branch of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Headquarters has announced the establishment of a new “Modesty and Hijab Situation Room,” bringing together cultural and executive agencies.

According to Momen-Nasab, a senior official of the organization, over 80,000 trained volunteers will be activated “to create a major transformation in the province.”

Analysts describe the move as part of Iran’s cyclical “tighten–relax–tighten” policy in social control — a pattern often reactivated during economic crises or political sensitivity.

Rather than a genuine cultural initiative, the program reflects a symbolic assertion of state power and an attempt to redirect public discourse from mounting economic hardship to moral regulation.

Such campaigns serve three overlapping objectives:

1. Reassert control over public space and social behavior.

2. Gauge public resistance before larger political events.

3. Divert media focus from governance and legitimacy challenges.

🌐 Context:

While Iran faces soaring inflation and rising social discontent, the focus on hijab enforcement underscores the government’s reliance on ideological tools to maintain cohesion.

Sociologists warn that sustained emphasis on coercive moral policies will further erode public trust and social capital, deepening the generational divide already visible across Iranian society.

Association of Environmental Journalists – “Journalistsir”

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