Videos show Iranian women being snatched from the streets by other women under the cover of war with Israel

Published

1 year ago

April 30, 2024

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In Tehran’s Revolution Square, two women clad in long black burqas approach another woman, dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and a hijab, or head scarf.

She tries to walk away, but one of the women in burqas grabs her by her sleeve and pulls her back, yanking her onto the ground. She is surrounded, wrapped in a blanket and bundled into a white van.

The scene is from one of many videos that have been circulating widely on social media in recent weeks, showing incidents of the latest crackdown by Iran’s so-called morality police.

But this time, another enforcement group is more visibly working alongside the regime – and they are also women.

Sky News has analysed dozens of videos showing incidents of authorities’ renewed campaign targeting women for not properly wearing their hijab in accordance with the regime’s strict sharia law.

“Before this new wave of attacks started, I was planning to get rid of some of my longer clothes, because I don’t feel comfortable in them,” said Leila, an Iranian woman in her 20s living in Tehran. She spoke to Sky News on condition of anonymity.

“Now, I find myself wearing those even though I hate them, because I think I wouldn’t feel safe going out of my house wearing something that I could potentially lose my life over, or that I could get arrested for.”

‘Ambassadors of Kindness’

What’s notable about this recent spate of arrests is the increased presence of women in burqas, considered by Iranian leaders as the most modest form of dress, working with authorities.

They are part of a new enforcement group, dubbed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as “Ambassadors of Kindness”, who are helping enforce harsh regulations and silence dissent, one expert said.

Some young Iranians are calling them “bats”.

Leila was recently in the street when she spotted the police and stopped to cover her hair. She was then approached by a woman wearing a full hijab who told her she should “be afraid of God, not the police”.

“The truth is that when someone is wearing full hijab I am afraid that she might be with the police,” she said.

It’s not the first time the IRGC has employed women to help them. But Hadi Ghaemi, director of New York-based Centre for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), says they’ve increased in number, as have the physical presence of morality police, white vans and police cars, which are used in the arrests of women on the street.

“They’re not armed, but they’re meant to go intimidate women by politely and kindly warning them. Then if the woman doesn’t listen, they call over security forces,” said Mr Ghaemi.

“What’s really scary is the way [authorities] are recommending citizens turn on citizens.”

War at home

As Iran launched its first ever attack on Israel, it intensified this less-noticed war at home.

Three days before it flew missiles into Israel, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, said that women in the Islamic Republic must obey the dress code, regardless of their beliefs.

Then on Saturday 13 April, Tehran’s police chief Abbas Ali Mohammadian said people who ignored prior warnings faced legal action.

Read the latest on the Israel-Hamas war here

Not long after his statement was released, videos showing white police vans on the streets of cities across Iran went viral.

Iranian authorities say their Nour (Persian for ‘light’) campaign targets businesses and individuals who defy hijab law and responds to demands from devout citizens who are angry about the growing number of unveiled women in public.

“The level of brutality is very, very high right now,” said Masih Alinejad, an Iranian American journalist and activist.

“This time they are more emboldened. You can see it on their faces and see it from the huge number of them.”

In one video analysed by Sky News, at least six officers wearing yellow vests appear to be arresting one woman outside a train station in Tehran. She resists but fails to break free, and is ushered into a white van.

In another video posted the same day authorities announced their campaign, footage shows a cluster of white police cars, vans, and men in uniform in Tehran’s Valiasr Square.

Sky News was able to verify the precise location of the videos and the date each clip first appeared online.

Women and girls arrested

Morality police vans had largely vanished from the streets of Iran since last year, when widespread protests erupted across the country in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman who died while being detained for improperly wearing her hijab.

Read more: Who was Mahsa Amini?

Police now appear to be back out in force, as a draconian ‘hijab and chastity’ bill is also currently making its way through the country’s parliament. One group of students reported new facial recognition software installed at a university dormitory.

But while street protests have died down, resistance to the regime’s hardline policies has not.

Iranian authorities released footage purporting to show members of the public being rude to, and lashing out at, morality police.

But this has backfired, said Ms Alinejad: “Now that video is going viral because people are so proud of the young women.”

Mina, another Iranian woman, had her car confiscated for three weeks last year because of her hijab. But she remains defiant.

“We fight not only to have the right to choose coverage, but to have the right to choose a lifestyle,” she said.

Another video showed the arrest of a woman for allegedly not wearing her hijab in Haft Tir metro station in Tehran.

But a crowd surrounded her, chanting “free her” and calling the police “dishonoured.” Not long after the noise began, the police released the woman.

The ‘war against women’

As these videos went viral, so did talk about Iran’s “war on women”. Since 12 April there has been a steady rise in the number of times the Farsi for ‘mandatory hijab’ (حجاب اجباری) was used across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

On 11 April the phrase was used 585 times – but by 22 April it was mentioned in almost 10,000 posts, according to social listening platform Talkwalker.

The hashtag #IRGCTerrorists was also repeatedly used to accompany posts about discrimination against women. This peaked on 16 April, when more than 234,000 posts used this hashtag.

Farsi for ‘War against women’ (جنگ_علیه_زنان) then surged the following day and was used almost 30,000 times. Some 42% of these posts came from Iran itself.

What is next for the women of Iran?

“The anger among Iranians is much stronger and heavier than before,” Mina said.

“I don’t think they are going to give up that fight. The flame of revolution is still burning in Iran.”

Some women, she said, are willing to risk imprisonment: “They would rather get arrested but not live in humiliation and not live under these barbaric officers walking in the streets.”

Additional reporting by John Sparks, International correspondent, Sam Doak, OSINT producer

The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open-source information. Through multimedia storytelling, we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

World

Defiance in Tehran as Khamenei makes appearance

Published

7 hours ago

July 6, 2025

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Defiance in Tehran as Khamenei makes appearance

They rose to their feet in ecstatic surprise, shouting “heydar, heydar” – a Shia victory chant.

This was the first public appearance of their supreme leader since Israel began attacking their country.

He emerged during evening prayers in his private compound. He said nothing but looked stern and resolute as he waved to the crowd.

He has spent the last weeks sequestered in a bunker, it is assumed, for his safety following numerous death threats from Israel and the US.

His re-emergence suggests a return to normality and a sense of defiance that we have witnessed here on the streets of Tehran too.

Earlier, we had filmed as men in black marched through the streets of the capital to the sound of mournful chants and the slow beat of drums, whipping their backs with metal flails.

This weekend they mark the Shia festival of Ashura as they have for 14 centuries. But this year has poignant significance for Iranians far more than most.

The devout remember the betrayal and death of Imam Hussein as if it happened yesterday. We filmed men and women weeping as they worshipped at the Imamzadeh Saleh Shrine in northern Tehran.

The armies of the Caliph Yazid killed the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh-century Battle of Karbala.

Shiite Muslims mark the anniversary every year and reflect on the virtue it celebrates, of resistance against oppression and injustice.

But more so than ever in the wake of Israel and America’s attacks on their country.

The story is one of prevailing over adversity and deception. A sense of betrayal is keenly felt here among people and officials.

Many Iranians believe they were lured into pursuing diplomacy as part of a ruse by the US.

Iran believed it was making diplomatic progress in talks with America it hoped could lead to a deal. Then Israel launched its attacks and, instead of condemning them, the US joined in.

Death to Israel chants resounded outside the mosque in skies which were filled for 12 days with the sounds of Israeli jets. There is a renewed sense of defiance here.

One man told us: “The lesson to be learned from Hussein is not to give in to oppression even if it is the most powerful force in the world.”

A woman was dismissive about the US president. “I don’t think about Trump, nobody likes him. He always wants to attack too many countries.”

Pictures on billboards nearby draw a line between Imam Hussein’s story and current events. The seventh-century imam on horseback alongside images of modern missiles and drones from the present day.

Other huge signs remember the dead. Iran says almost 1,000 people were killed in the strikes, many of them women and children.

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Officially Iran is projecting defiance but not closing the door to diplomacy.

Government spokeswoman Dr Fatemeh Mohajerani told Sky News that Israel should not even think about attacking again.

“We are very strong in defence and as state officials have announced, this time Israel will receive an even stronger response compared to previous times,” she said.

“We hope that Israel will not make such a mistake.”

But there is also a hint of conciliation: Senior Iranian officials have told Sky News that back-channel efforts are under way to explore new talks with the US.

Israel had hoped its attacks could topple the Iranian leadership. That proved unfounded, the government is in control here.

For many Iranians, it seems quite the opposite happened – the 12-day war has brought them closer together.

World

‘Nobody likes Trump’: Sky News finds defiance on the streets of Tehran

Published

19 hours ago

July 5, 2025

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'Nobody likes Trump': Sky News finds defiance on the streets of Tehran

To the sound of mournful chants and the slow beat of drums, they march, whipping their backs with metal flails.

It is an ancient ceremony going back almost 14 centuries – the Shia commemoration of Ashura.

But this year in particular has poignant significance for Iranians.

The devout remember the betrayal and death of the Imam Hussein as if it happened yesterday.

We filmed men and women weep as they worshipped at the Imamzadeh Saleh Shrine in northern Tehran.

The grandson of the Prophet Muhammad was killed by the armies of the Caliph Yazid in the seventh century Battle of Karbala.

Shia Muslims mark the anniversary every year and reflect on the virtue it celebrates – of resistance against oppression and injustice. But more so than ever this year, in the wake of Israel and America’s attacks on their country.

The story is one of prevailing over adversity and deception. A sense of betrayal is keenly felt here by people and officials.

Many Iranians believe they were lured into pursuing diplomacy as part of a ruse by the US.

Iran believed it was making diplomatic progress in talks with America, which it hoped could lead to a deal. Then Israel launched its attacks and, instead of condemning them, the US joined in.

“Death to Israel” chants resounded outside the mosque in skies that for 12 days were filled with the sounds of Israeli jets.

There is a renewed sense of defiance here.

One man told us: “The lesson to be learned from Hussein is not to give in to oppression, even if it is the most powerful force in the world.”

A woman was dismissive about the US president.

“I don’t think about Trump. Nobody likes him. He always wants to attack too many countries.”

Pictures on billboards nearby link Imam Hussein’s story and current events. They show the seventh century imam on horseback alongside images of modern missiles and drones from the present day.

Other huge signs remember the dead. Iran says almost 1,000 people were killed in the strikes, many of them women and children.

Officially Iran is projecting defiance, but not closing the door to diplomacy.

Government spokeswoman Dr Fatemeh Mohajerani told Sky News that Israel should not even think about attacking again.

“We are very strong in defence, and as state officials have announced, this time Israel will receive an even stronger response compared to previous times. We hope that Israel will not make such a mistake.”

But there is also a hint of conciliation. Senior Iranian officials have told Sky News back-channel efforts are under way to explore new talks with the US.

Israel had hoped its attacks could topple the Iranian leadership. Those hopes proved unfounded. The government is in control here.

For many Iranians it seems quite the opposite happened – the 12-day war has brought them closer together.

World

Two security workers injured after grenades thrown at aid site, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says

Published

22 hours ago

July 5, 2025

admin

Two security workers injured after grenades thrown at aid site, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says

Two American security workers in Gaza were injured after grenades were thrown during food distribution in Khan Younis, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has said.

In a statement, the US and Israeli-backed aid group said a targeted terrorist attack was carried out at one of its sites in southern Gaza on Saturday morning.

The two Americans injured “are receiving medical treatment and are in stable condition,” it said, adding that the delivery of aid was “otherwise successful” and that “no local aid workers or civilians were harmed”.

GHF didn’t say exactly when the incident happened but claimed Hamas was behind the attack, adding: “GHF has repeatedly warned of credible threats from Hamas, including explicit plans to target American personnel, Palestinian aid workers, and the civilians who rely on our sites for food.

“Today’s attack tragically affirms those warnings.”

Later, the aid group posted a picture on social media, which it said showed “fragments of a grenade packed with ball bearings” that was used in the attack.

Asked by Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, whether the two injured individuals were responsible for handing out aid or were responsible for providing security, GHF said they were “American security workers” and “two American veterans.”

The aid group did not provide specific evidence that Hamas was behind the attack.

The US and Israeli-backed group has been primarily responsible for aid distribution since Israel lifted its 11-week blockade of the Gaza Strip in May.

It comes after Sky News analysis showed GHF aid distributions are associated with a significant increase in deaths in Gaza.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, 600 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid from GHF sites as of 3 July, which charities and the UN have branded “death traps”.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press has reported that Israeli-backed American contractors guarding GHF aid centres in Gaza are using live ammunition and stun grenades.

GHF has vehemently denied the accusations, adding that it investigated AP’s allegations and found them to be “categorically false”.

Israel’s military added that it fires only warning shots and is investigating reports of civilian harm.

It denies deliberately shooting at any innocent civilians and says it’s examining how to reduce “friction with the population” in the areas surrounding the distribution centres.