Khamenei says 'enemy' inciting riots in Iran under pretext of women's rights

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei urged Iranian women to resist foreign influence, warning that enemies use soft tactics to incite riots under the pretext of defending women’s rights.

“Everyone, especially women, should be vigilant about the enemy’s soft tactics and not be deceived by slogans and temptations,” Khamenei said in a meeting with a group of women on Tuesday.

"They label it as defending women, advocating for women's rights, or supporting a group of women," he added, pointing to the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' movement. "Yet, under the pretext of defending a single woman, they incite unrest in the country."

The 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom movement began after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. The ensuing crackdown, which led to the deaths of at least 550 protesters, was described as a crime against humanity by a UN fact-finding mission.

In his first public statements following the uprising in 2022, Khamenei said the protests had been engineered by Iran's enemies and their allies.

As the hijab war continues, the government has now officially postponed the implementation of the latest and most controversial hijab law, which imposes severe penalties on women and girls who defy veiling requirements, following widespread backlash from the public and international community.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in a letter to parliament on Saturday, requested that the implementation of the Hijab and Chastity law be halted. A member of the parliament's presiding board stated that this delay is to allow the government to submit an amended version of the bill for parliamentary review.

Last week, Amnesty International condemned the new law, stating that it intensifies the oppression of women and girls while exposing activists opposing the rules to charges that carry the death penalty.

Amnesty noted that the law, drafted in May 2023, less than a year after the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising, was introduced in response to widespread defiance of compulsory veiling by women and girls.

Iran-backed forces will endure - Khamenei

In his speech, Khamenei emphasized that Tehran's armed groups in the region, including Hamas and Hezbollah, remain strong despite significant challenges posed by external forces.

Addressing the situations in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, Khamenei condemned the actions of the United States and Israel, calling their assumption that resistance would end a grave miscalculation.

"They thought resistance was over," Khamenei said. "They are gravely mistaken. The spirit of Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah is alive; the spirit of Sinwar is alive. Their martyrdom has not removed them from existence. Their path continues."

Khamenei dismissed Israel's military operations in Syria, warning that its efforts to encircle and eliminate Hezbollah forces would ultimately fail. "The one who will be uprooted is Israel," he said.

While Israel maintains that it has no interest in conflict with Syria and rarely comments on specific strikes, it has carried out a series of operations targeting weapons facilities and military infrastructure. Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, Israel has intensified strikes against military installations across the country.

On Monday, multiple large explosions rocked Syria's coastal areas — home to Russian and pro-Assad military bases, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Israel also maintains troop presence inside the buffer zone and beyond, citing efforts to prevent a repeat of the October 7 attacks, in which Iran-backed Hamas infiltrated Israeli territory, killing over 1,100 people and taking more than 250 hostages.