Hijab Official In Iran Fired Over Same-Sex Video

The controversy surfaced when a video began circulating on social media, allegedly showing Reza Seqati engaging in a sexual act with a young man. The identity of the other individual in the video remains undisclosed.

Local media reported on Wednesday that Seqati's dismissal was attributed to "scandals". It was claimed that the decision to remove the director of the ministry's Gilan province branch was carried out under the directive of President Ebrahim Raisi’s culture minister.

The Iranian government has not yet commented and Culture Minister Mohammad Mahdi Esmaili only claimed in a video on Wednesday that he had “fired several ministry managers for their failure to adhere seriously to implementing the hijab law.”

Iran International cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Seqati, who is reported to be married with three daughters, has previously been known as a staunch advocate of mandatory hijab in Gilan. In May, he had announced the launch of a hijab hypermarket in the province and had taken measures to establish a hijab exhibition in Rasht's central exhibition hall, focusing on producing clothing in line with “Iranian-Islamic culture”.

Hardliners have been looking for ways to strengthen the enforcement of hijab after their ‘morality police’ tactic of arresting women for “improper hijab” backfired with the death of Mahsa Amini last September, triggering nationwide popular protests.