After the 12-Day War: Is Iran’s Relaxation of Moral Policing A Chimera?

Organisers of a marathon in Iran were arrested on December 8, 2025, after pictures circulated on social media showing women competing without the mandatory hijab. Amnesty International sprang into action, putting out a statement: “Women running marathons should never lead to an arrest,” it said.

This is the first reported case of moral policing since September, when Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said that the morality police will no longer "bother" women over the wearing of the mandatory hijab headscarf. 

Pezeshkian’s statement had come just days after the UN warned that women were still being violently punished for breaking the regime’s strict dress code, and on the second anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while she was in police custody for not wearing a hijab properly. The incident had led to widespread protests across Iran. 

“The compulsory hijab law is exactly as it was, but the public mood has changed noticeably. In Tehran, Shiraz, and even parts of Mashhad, it is common to see women walking without a headscarf as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world,” says Fatemeh Aman, a non-resident senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

Cracks in the Armour of Moral Police?

In the months following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, social media and news reports that the Iranian regime might be rethinking the strict hijab laws. According to a November 2025 Al Jazeera report, the government’s Supreme National Security Council ordered to stop “heavily enforcing” the controversial hijab law. 

Social media was suddenly filled with videos showing unveiled Iranian women in public gatherings in the presence of men, from musical performances to cafés. Such incidents would have earlier triggered a crackdown by the moral police, and sometimes do, but not with the same gusto and authority as before. 

“The morality police still appear, but not in the old rhythm. They might show up for a day or two, make a point, then vanish again. It gives the impression that they are present but not dominant, and that is new. The result is a sort of uneasy coexistence. The law is there. The disobedience is also there,” says Aman. 

Analysts say this is the Iranian regime trying to be pragmatic, or at least the moderates within the Iranian regime trying to keep peace with their citizens. As Iran reels from the wars with Israel, the economic woes due to the sanctions, and the civilian unrest after Amin’s death, the government is looking for ways to ease societal tensions. 

One government official appointed a “Gen Z adviser,” showing that the regime does want to connect to its younger citizens. 

“At the moment, Iran is in a very vulnerable position. Politically and militarily. Firstly, they were given a very major assault—there were two attacks by the Israelis this year and the last, which have affirmed to them their concerns that Israel and the United States will never leave the regime in peace. And that they are totally untrustworthy,” says Talmiz Ahmad, former Indian ambassador to the Middle East. 

According to Ahmad, amid the growing international scrutiny, the Iranian supreme leader gave a “green light” for Pezeshkian’s presidency as he was seen as “more reformist.” But this did not have the desired outcome. 

Aman, too, says: “Iran is living through a period of strain that people feel in the smallest parts of daily life, whether it is the price of groceries or the uncertainty in the political atmosphere. In such a moment, a heavy-handed hijab crackdown would be explosive.”

However, as seen from the arrest of the marathon organisers, the iron fist remains—hidden but still, very much in control. 

“What looks like relaxation is actually the state of moving pieces around. It reduces the chance of a spark on the street while increasing pressure in areas that do not attract as much attention. It is a redistribution of force, not a reduction of it,” points out Aman. 

Temporary Relaxation of Moral Policing: A Cover For Extremist Actions Against Civilians?

The loosening of visible moral policing does not mean Iran has abandoned moral policing and societal control. On the contrary, the war has provided cover and justification for a sweeping internal security crackdown. “The contrast is deliberate,” says Aman.

Since the war started, Iranian authorities have taken into custody over 21,000 people. Many of the detained are civilians such as journalists, activists, and minority groups. The crackdown has included mass detentions, summary trials, and a sharp rise in executions. 

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have publicly warned that the post-war repression is “unrelenting,” with surveillance, arbitrary arrests, raids on minorities, and even killings of civilians at checkpoints. 

Thus, while the traditional, visible “moral police” — with its vans slamming down on unveiled women — may have retreated somewhat from the streets, the state’s capacity to enforce moral, social and political conformity remains intact, and in many ways, has been expanded and deepened.