Iran’s Pezeshkian names critic of morality police as vice-president

TEHRAN – Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian named an outspoken critic of the country’s controversial morality police force as one of his vice-presidents.

Iranian state TV said on Aug 10 that Ms Zahra Behrouz-Azar, a 42-year-old woman and reformist figure, was appointed as Mr Pezeshkian’s vice-president for women and family affairs.

The move comes at a time of renewed public anger over the harsh tactics of the unit, which enforces the country’s strict Islamic dress codes on women in public places.

This week, a video surfaced on social media showing the arrest of two teenage girls in Tehran who were wearing jeans and white shirts. Captured by a closed-circuit camera, the footage shows one of the girls clinging to a junction box before being dragged on her knees by four female officers, dressed in black chadors, to a white police van.

In an interview in June, Ms Behrouz-Azar criticised the morality police, stating that the unit has failed to achieve its intended purposes and needs a comprehensive review. She said that from a moral, Islamic and national perspective, “no one should be satisfied” with the enforcement practices of the unit.

Mr Pezeshkian’s commitment to reforming the morality police was a key focus of his presidential campaign, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction with the force. However, while he has promised changes, he has not explicitly pledged to dismantle the unit altogether.

The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022 while in the custody of the morality police sparked months of nationwide protests. In the wake of the demonstrations, the unit was temporarily withdrawn from the streets but was reinstated months later under hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi, whose death in a helicopter crash in May triggered a snap election.

Thousands were arrested and hundreds were killed during the unrest in 2022, including at least seven known executions of protesters, according to human rights groups.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Parliament Speaker announced live on the Student News Network that Mr Pezeshkian on Aug 11 nominated Dr Abbas Araghchi as foreign minister.

“From tomorrow morning, parliamentary commissions will start reviewing the plans of proposed ministers until the end of next week,” Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said as the Parliament still needs to approve Mr Pezeshkian’s nominated Cabinet.

Mr Araqchi is a seasoned pragmatist diplomat who was chief negotiator in nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers from 2013 to 2021.

He has served as Iran’s ambassador to Turkey and Japan, and held the role of deputy foreign minister for Asia-Pacific for two years before becoming spokesperson of the ministry in 2013 for a short period.

When Mr Mohammad Javad Zarif was the foreign minister, Dr Araqchi was the second-most influential official at the Foreign Ministry and held roles like deputy for legal and international affairs and deputy for political affairs.

He holds a PhD in political thought from the University of Kent. BLOOMBERG, REUTERS