HORRIFIC videos have shown Iran's twisted "Morality Police" snatching women off the street in their latest draconian dress code crackdown.
Those flouting Tehran's laws can be sexually assaulted, tasered and beaten for infractions as minor as wearing jeans in public.
One video from Tehran shows a woman surrounded by roughly a dozen officers, with two women smacking her face and two men dragging her into a van.
In another, a woman is heard asking, "Let me put on [my headscarf]" while a male officer tases her.
Under the code name "Noor," which means "light" in Farsi, the Islamic Republic has begun a huge new crackdown on anyone who disobeys its strict dress restrictions for women.
The most recent harsh restrictions went into effect on April 13, just hours before Iran launched hundreds of suicide drones and missiles at Israel.
Online outlets have also been subject to the crackdown. Numerous women who spoke about their experiences were taken into custody by the police, and hundreds of Instagram posts were taken down.
Even more surprising, some women themselves have appeared to have joined the retrograde police force, with young Iranians calling them "bats".
Women working with authorities are more frequently seen wearing the full hijab, which is regarded by Iranian leaders as the most modest style of clothing.
They are a part of a new enforcement group called "Ambassadors of Kindness" by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is assisting in enforcing strict restrictions and silencing criticism, an expert told .
Iranian women told The Telegraph about being sexually abused and having their access to public places like universities, cafes and tube stations restricted because they don't wear headscarves or are wearing tight trousers.
Women are increasingly going public without the headscarf since the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was detained for wearing her hijab "improperly.
The 37-year-old reportedly died in police custody after being arrested.
But the circumstances surrounding her death remain controversial, with conflicting reports from authorities and activists
Her case highlighted issues of women's rights and police brutality in Iran.
Following Amini's death, there were protests around the country, and the morality police's white vans temporarily vanished.
But they have now returned with furious force.
Iran's police chief, Ahmadreza Radan, said on Tuesday that the latest crackdown will be carried out with "force and precision."
Numerous Iranians claim that this particular timing was selected due to a shift in world focus.
A civil engineering student in Karaj, 25, told in anonymity: “I was approached by a group of plainclothes officers at around 5pm last Wednesday when I was walking on the pavement towards home.
“I had my headscarf loosely draped around my neck, ready to be pulled up if I encountered them but everything unfolded too swiftly for me to react.
“One of them, with a long beard, made a call and requested a van to be brought to the scene.
“Shortly after, he began touching me inappropriately. He was touching my breasts and was telling me ‘Isn’t this what you wanted by coming out like this? Enjoy then’. It was the worst moment of my life."
She added: "I tried to resist, but another one of them grabbed me by the hair and slammed me onto the ground.
“Feeling helpless, I attempted to scream and call for help but there was no one there. I stood up but another one grabbed my shirt and slammed me to the ground again."
Imprisoned women’s rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, called the situation an “all-out war against women”.
In a voice message from the notorious Evin prison, she said: “Today, the authoritarian religious government, driven by desperation rather than strength, has unleashed an all-out war against women on every street of the country."
Academic institutions and coffee shops have also been affected.
In protest of new regulations at universities, more than 200 students from Tehran's Amirkabir University went on strike on Sunday and skipped class.
It comes after a leaked document revealed how an Iranian teenager was sexually assaulted and killed by three men working for Iran's security forces.
Nine days after going missing from an anti-regime protest in 2022, 16-year-old Nika Shakarami's body was discovered.
She committed suicide, according to the government.
But the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the security organisation that upholds the nation's Islamic system, summarised a hearing on Nika's case in a "Highly Confidential" report.
The names of her killers and the senior commanders who attempted to conceal the facts are mentioned in it, reports.
The secret doc also describes unsettling information about what happened in the back of an undercover van while Nika was being held back by security officers.
These include a man molesting Nika while sitting on her and the teen fighting back, kicking and swearing while handcuffed and restrained.
It also mentions the men beating her with a baton in a written admission.
