Iran hardline daily says war no reason to ease hijab enforcement
Iran should not abandon enforcement of mandatory hijab rules during wartime, a hardline newspaper said on Monday.
“War should not mean suspending policies related to preserving society’s identity,” Kayhan wrote, arguing that the Quranic verse on hijab was itself revealed during a war.
Authorities were holding back from enforcing mandatory hijab as extensively as they would like because of “war conditions,” said Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, a member of Iran’s Expediency Council, and Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s father-in-law earlier this month.
The newspaper, which is published under the supervision of the supreme leader’s representative, called for stopping the growing defiance of compulsory hijab, warning that allowing one boundary to be broken would lead to others being normalized.
The commentary comes as a growing number of Iranian women appear in public without mandatory headscarves.
The index measuring manufacturers’ raw material inventories fell to 39.3 in August from about 44.5 in July, while the Purchasing Managers’ Index for the overall economy dropped to 46.9, according to the survey. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.
Continued depletion of raw material inventories, combined with weakness elsewhere in the supply chain, could become one of the “most serious constraints on industrial production growth” in the coming months, the Iran Chamber of Commerce warned.
War damage adds to supply pressure
Part of the shortage cannot be explained by restrictions on imports alone. Iran was a major producer and exporter of several affected products, including petrochemicals and steel, before the war.
Major petrochemical facilities in Asaluyeh and Mahshahr and the Mobarakeh Steel and Khuzestan Steel complexes were targeted during the war. Asaluyeh and Mahshahr together accounted for roughly three-quarters of Iran’s petrochemical production before the strikes.
Mobarakeh and Khuzestan Steel also sustained damage to production infrastructure.
The chamber attributed pressure on raw material stocks to limited access to foreign currency, difficulties with imports and customs clearance, goods being held at customs, logistical disruptions and higher procurement costs.
The oil and gas products sector recorded the lowest raw material inventory index at 23.3, followed by vehicles and related parts at 28.7. Rubber and plastics and the clothing and leather industries each recorded 32.2.
Only the food industry and the wood, paper and furniture sector recorded raw material inventory readings above 50.
Input costs climb
Manufacturers also reported a sharp rise in raw material costs, with the purchase-price index increasing to 88.2 in August from 80.4 in July.
The index exceeded 100 for oil and gas products, while machinery and household appliances and non-metallic mineral products recorded readings above 92. Raw material purchase-price indices were above 50 across every industrial sector surveyed.
Other major PMI components remained below 50, including output or service activity at 47.8, new customer orders at 47.5, suppliers’ delivery times at 48.6 and employment at 47.3. All deteriorated from July except employment, which was unchanged.
Consumer prices were more than 84% higher in August than a year earlier, while annual inflation stood at about 69%, according to the Statistical Center of Iran.
The sharp increase in manufacturers’ input costs adds to inflationary pressure on consumer prices. The Chamber warned that shrinking inventories could also reduce production capacity and disrupt or halt some production lines if current conditions persist.
The network operated in Fariman in northeastern Iran. Sadegh Maloul, a local figure with a background in cultural and media activities connected to the Basij and Revolutionary Guards, coordinated teams that filmed protesters, according to the sources.
Images gathered by the network were sent to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization in Fariman and Mashhad and used to identify people who had taken part in demonstrations and add evidence to security cases against them, the sources said.
Iran International’s investigation indicates that the process contributed to the arrest of 23 people.
Maloul has been identified as the head of the Basij Artists Center in Fariman and had previously collaborated with the IRGC’s public relations department.
Local media material reviewed by Iran International identifies him with the Fariman Basij Artists Center, while biographical information attributed to him described him as an “honorary reporter” cooperating with the IRGC’s public relations department.
These records link Maloul’s cultural and media activities to organizations affiliated with the Basij and IRGC.
From culture to surveillance
At the Basij Artists Center, Maloul organized members to produce cultural and media content aligned with the Islamic Republic’s messaging.
In late 2024 or early 2025, he called on young people he described as “soft-war officers” to produce films on subjects including Basij security activities, hijab and online activity.
The center’s performance and training programs also brought it into contact with teenagers and young adults interested in art and filmmaking.
During the January protests, the teams coordinated by Maloul recorded demonstrators, according to sources familiar with the operation.
The footage was subsequently transferred to IRGC intelligence offices in Fariman and Mashhad, where it was used to identify demonstrators and add evidence to security cases against them.
Iran International could not independently determine how many people took part in the filming teams or whether everyone involved in the cultural organizations knew how the material would later be used.
Crackdown across Razavi Khorasan
The operation unfolded during a wider crackdown across Razavi Khorasan, where protests spread to at least 20 counties in January.
Mashhad, the provincial capital, was a major center of protests, while Fariman also saw demonstrations and arrests.
Iran International has previously reported that security forces used live fire against protesters in several parts of Mashhad and restricted internet access and communications in areas where demonstrations were taking place.
The Fariman case indicates how surveillance may extend beyond formal security agencies into local cultural and media networks.
New role after protests
Several months after the January protests, Maloul became head of the Sadaqat charitable center.
His new role indicates that he continued to hold positions within organizations connected to the Islamic Republic’s institutional network after the crackdown.
The Fariman case offers a glimpse into a less visible part of Iran’s protest-control machinery: not only the forces deployed in the streets, but local networks capable of recording demonstrators, identifying them and passing information to security agencies after the crowds disperse.
