Vigilante rallies fuel debate on Iran’s free assembly double standards

Recent rallies organized by vigilantes outside the Iranian Parliament and in the religious city of Mashhad have sparked criticism over the state's selective enforcement of freedom of assembly.

Held outside the Parliament on Sunday, the latest such rally featured chants against President Masoud Pezeshkian and members of his administration, particularly his strategic deputy, Javad Zarif, whom the vigilantes demanded be removed from office.

Known as the “People of the Party of God” (Ummat-e hezbollah), vigilante groups in Iran are closely aligned with ultra-hardliner factions such as the Paydari Party and the Basij militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). The Paydari Party has close ties to former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, whom they supported in the snap presidential elections after the death of incumbent President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19.

Critics argue that authorities provide these groups privileges denied to other political organizations.

The moderate conservative Fararu news website criticized the rally, noting in a report on Monday that the freedom of assembly granted to these vigilantes is particularly striking.

“Freedom of speech [and assembly] is a blessed thing and an understandable [right] but only when it exists for all activists,” the piece on the site read.

Vigilantes protesting outside the Parliament on Sunday

Their protests also targeted Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei and Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, accusing them of failing to enforce stricter hijab regulations and tighter internet filtering.

In their most recent rallies, these vigilantes, who have significantly dwindled in number in recent years, continued to demand a missile strike against Israel in response to its October attack on Iran's military facilities.

While the Iranian constitution guarantees the right to peaceful assembly under Article 27—requiring gatherings to be unarmed and in accordance with Islamic principles—political parties and groups are still prohibited from freely assembling in public spaces.

Female vigilantes protesting outside the Parliament for hijab enforcement on January 11

Assembly permits are often denied to most political groups, effectively suppressing their protests. In contrast, vigilante groups are allowed to hold rallies freely, without authorization, and often accuse rival political figures of treason or insufficient religious piety.

Unlike vigilantes, activists and citizens who attempt to hold rallies or protests are typically met with harsh dispersal or arrest by police and security forces for "illegal assembly."

In December, an Interior Ministry official warned ultra-hardliners and their affiliated vigilante groups of serious consequences if they continued to disrupt societal harmony with their protests against the President's new, more progressive policies.

On Sunday, the Ministry's Director General for Political Affairs reiterated the need for rally permits, but as in previous instances, no action has been taken against the vigilantes' illegal demonstrations in recent days.

Despite their shrinking numbers—Sunday’s rally reportedly attracted fewer than 100 participants—vigilante gatherings continue to garner significant media attention.

Speeches at the rally included one by Morteza Agha-Tehrani, a member of the Central Council of the Paydari (Steadfastness) Party and a member of Parliament's Cultural Committee.

Agha-Tehrani said that enforcing the hijab law shelved for the time being by the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) to avoid unrest, would ultimately “bring security.”