The Islamic Republic's Assembly of Experts on Saturday, 17 October 2026, issued a statement calling for the "promulgation and firm enforcement of the law" on compulsory hijab, while urging the armed forces to respond to any US threat in a way that is "firm and proportionate, regret-inducing and surprising". The statement came as the US naval blockade has pushed Iran's economy into recession and many women continue to appear in the streets without hijab.
The body, which under the Islamic Republic's constitution is tasked with choosing and overseeing the leader, called observing hijab "a religious duty" and "a legal responsibility", and asked cultural and executive officials to present a comprehensive, continuous plan to counter what it called the "normalisation of unveiling". The statement stressed that hijab "must not become a temporary issue".
Dispute over the "chastity and hijab" law
The Assembly of Experts' demand that the law be promulgated goes back to a dispute among the regime's institutions over the so-called "chastity and hijab" law. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, said on 25 May 2025 that the secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council had asked in writing that the law not be promulgated for now. Ali Kazemi, the judiciary's spokesman, said on 7 October 2026 that the prosecutor-general had written to the Interior Ministry and other bodies about their duties regarding hijab.
The new push for compulsory hijab comes as the Islamic Republic's judiciary has handed down heavy sentences this week in cases involving women's dress and behaviour, including a sentence of 50 lashes for a woman in Qom accused of kissing a man in a coffee shop. Before that, women were barred from the outdoor athletics track of Tehran's national sports complex.
US threats and a call for military readiness
In another part of the statement, the Assembly of Experts called for greater defensive, intelligence, cyber and air-defence readiness and described deterrence as "a strategic necessity". It also asked the diplomatic apparatus and national security officials to take a stand against threats by US officials.
The statement also addressed inflation, falling purchasing power, market instability, housing and employment, and asked Masoud Pezeshkian's government for scheduled programmes with clearly assigned officials. At the same time, the Assembly of Experts expressed support for Mojtaba Khamenei, the Islamic Republic's leader, and said "selective and discriminatory" enforcement of the law harms "public trust".
Hijab as a priority amid recession and war
The Assembly's statement puts compulsory hijab first at a time when the Monetary and Banking Research Institute of the Islamic Republic's central bank has estimated a 5.9 percent contraction of Iran's economy and the prices of basic goods have multiplied. The widespread presence of women without hijab in public spaces since the 2022 uprising and the death of Mahsa Amini has shown that the law has no legitimacy for a large part of Iranian society.
In days of recession and blockade, the Assembly of Experts put strict enforcement of compulsory hijab alongside military readiness at the top of its demands.
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