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As the Iranian regime closed at least 2,000 businesses since late March for womens refusal to wear compulsory hijab, tens of thousands have lost their jobs.

Reformist Shargh daily in a report Thursday said statements by the police and other officials about the implementation of a campaign against hijab-lessness indicate that around 2,000 businesses including restaurants, cafes, tourist accommodations, retail shops and even a counseling clinic and a gym -- have suffered closure in the past month only.

On Tuesday hardline media reported that some businesses, mainly restaurants and cafes, owned by celebrity artists and popular footballers have been shut down or received warnings over defiance of hijab rules by their staff and customers.

Authorities also announced on the same day that they had shut down Opal Mall, a massive modern shopping center with over 450 businesses in Tehran. Shargh said the closure of the mall alone has resulted in the loss of around 2,500 jobs.

Woman has a seizure at a shopping arcade in northern Iran after hijab enforcers fire their guns during a scuffle with business owners.

At the start of the month, Irans 83-year-old ruler Ali Khamenei reiterated the regime's stance on hijab, which became mandatory after the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. He said: Discarding hijab is haram (sinful) based on Sharia and also politically."

His declaration was a clear signal to all state and religious authorities to do anything it takes to re-establish control over women who are increasingly joining the civil disobedience movement against forced hijab rules.

However, legal experts say closure of businesses is unjustified even based on the Islamic Republics own laws and the Sharia.

Has anyone ever heard of a street being banned because of a murder that happened there? Or is it possible to shut down a government office because of corruption? Businesses cannot be sealed because someone removes their hijab there, Mohammad Mansouri-Boroujeni, a professor of law at Esfahan University wrote in a commentary on April 20.

A group of Iranian women unveiling in public

Mohsen Borhani, an Islamic law expert and lawyer, argued in a tweet that nowhere in Sharia one can find reasons to justify the ban on selling commodities to hijab-less women or to shut down a shop if a hijab-less woman is spotted there. You neither abide by the law, nor the Sharia. Its flustering! he tweeted April 18.

The police have also said they are prosecuting those who promote defiance of the compulsory hijab on social media and have warned hundreds of imminent prosecutions, placed hundreds of hijab promoters on the streets to warn women, and banned entrance of unveiled women to museums and other public venues.

Hijab banner in Tehran says it is mothers legacy for their daughters.

Tehran municipality has recently put up hundreds of banners on the streets to promote the hijab. Hijab is the legacy of mothers, one such banner which shows a mother donning a black veil on a very young girl says while another equates opposition to the compulsory hijab to destroying the foundations of families.

My mother did not wear the hijab. Neither did my grandmother. Id like to adhere to my own heritage, a woman said in a video of one of the hijab banners she sent to Iran International.

In a tweet with a photo of the woman who protested the compulsory hijab, another woman said fighting against the compulsory hijab was mothers legacy

The recent campaign to enforce hijab rules has caused some violent incidents involving pro-hijab vigilantes and women who defy it. A 60-year-old woman had a cardiac arrest this week when a fight broke out between vigilantes and members of her family over hijab.

A member of the family of Kolsum Oftadehpour told Iran International TV that there was no autopsy and authorities did not allow them to see the body before and during the burial which they carried out without the familys involvement. The family have been threatened not to talk, he said.

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Thousands Lose Jobs In Iran Due To Closure Of Businesses For Hijab -

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iran's navy seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday heading to the U.S. amid wider tensions over Tehran's nuclear program, the latest-such capture in a waterway crucial for global energy supplies.

The U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet identified the vessel as the Advantage Sweet. Satellite tracking data for the vessel from MarineTraffic.com showed it in the Gulf of Oman, just north of Oman's capital, Muscat, on Thursday afternoon. It had just come from Kuwait and listed its destination as Houston.

The Advantage Sweet issued a distress call at 1:15 p.m. while in international waters as Iran seized the vessel, the Navy said.

"Irans actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability," the 5th Fleet said in a statement. Iran should immediately release the oil tanker.

The Navy initially said Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized the vessel, but an American naval aircraft later confirmed that Iran's navy captured the ship, 5th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins told The Associated Press.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said the seizure came after an unknown ship collided with an Iranian vessel last night in the Persian Gulf, causing several Iranian crew members to go missing and get injured. It did not identify the other ship involved in the alleged collision.

The Advantage Sweet had been in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday, but its track showed no unusual behavior as it transited through the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of all traded oil passes. Iran has made allegations in other seizures that later fell apart as it became clear Tehran was trying to leverage the capture as a chip to negotiate with foreign nations.

Irans harassing activity within the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman is commensurate with an established pattern of behavior that has seen Iran target vessels as a result of ongoing disputes," maritime security firm Dryad Global said.

The 5th Fleet said the Iranian seizure was at least the fifth commercial vessel taken by Tehran in the last two years.

Iran's continued harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in regional waters are a threat to maritime security and the global economy, it added.

U.S. Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East, said in a statement that the illegal seizure of the tanker was ""another in a continuing series of violations by Iran of the international rules-based order."

The vessel's manager, a Turkish firm called Advantage Tankers, issued a statement acknowledging the Advantage Sweet was being escorted by the Iranian navy to a port on the basis of an international dispute. All the ship's 24 crew members are Indian.

The safety and welfare of our valued crew members is our No. 1 priority, the firm said. Similar experiences show that crew members of vessels taken under such circumstances are in no danger.

The ship's listed owner appeared to be a Chinese company.

Manifest information from data firm Refinitiv showed the Advantage Sweet carried Kuwaiti crude oil for American energy firm Chevron Corp. of San Ramon, California. Chevron said it was aware of the situation.

We are in contact with the vessel operator with the hope of resolving this situation as soon as possible, Chevron spokesperson Christine Dobbyn said in a statement.

Thursday's seizure by Iran was the latest in a string of ship seizures and explosions to roil the region.

The incidents began after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Irans nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Also, the U.S. Navy has blamed Iran for a series of limpet mine attacks on vessels that damaged tankers in 2019, as well as for a fatal drone attack on an Israeli-linked oil tanker that killed two European crew members in 2021.

Tehran denies carrying out the attacks, but a wider shadow war between Iran and the West has played out in the regions volatile waters. Iranian tanker seizures have been a part of it since 2019. The last major seizure came when Iran took two Greek tankers in May and held them until November.

In the wider Mideast, Iranian-backed militias in Syria have carried out attacks on U.S. forces, including one that killed a contractor in March. The U.S. responded with airstrikes.

Meanwhile, talks over Irans tattered nuclear deal have been stalled for a year. Since the deals collapse, Iran runs advanced centrifuges and has a rapidly growing stockpile of enriched uranium. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned Iran has enriched enough up to 60% purity a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%. That would be sufficient for Iran to make several nuclear weapons if it chooses to do so.

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Associated Press writer Robert Badendieck in Istanbul contributed to this report.

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Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

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Iran navy seizes tanker near Oman that was on way to Houston - ABC News

Irans exiled prince Reza Pahlavi, who is on a visit to Italy to galvanize support for the Iranian uprising, visited the Vatican on the second day of his stay on Thursday.

Irans exiled prince Reza Pahlavi, who is on a visit to Italy to galvanize support for the Iranian uprising, visited the Vatican on the second day of his stay on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Pahlavi and his wife Yasmine also held a friendly meeting with a group of Iranians residing in Italy before taking a few minutes of their time to meet Elaheh Tavakolian, a PhD student who lost one of her eyes to shotgun pellets fired at protesters by the Islamic Republics security forces. She is in Italy to receive treatment for her eye.

Irans exiled prince Reza Pahlavi (right), his wife Yasmine (center) and Elaheh Tavakolian, a protester who lost one of her eyes to shotgun pellets fired by the Islamic Republics security forces, April 27, 2023

Wherever the Pahlavis went during their first two days in Italy, they were welcomed by a large Iranian crowd who had gathered to meet the prince. The moment he arrived at the Italian parliament, he was greeted by Iranians who were chanting slogans in support of King Reza Pahlavi, saying that they would bring him back to Iran.

There, he spoke to people about their role in supporting the protests, calling on them to be the voice of the people who are suffering under the regime and do not enjoy the freedom and access to the free world to make their voices heard. You are the voice of the future, he told the crowd.

Irans exiled prince Reza Pahlavi (left) and his wife Yasmine speaking to their supporters outside the Italian parliament on April 26, 2023

Your unison and unanimity not only invigorate our compatriots inside the country -- the ones in the Evin prison, or the ones who have lost their eyesight to regimes bullets, or the schoolgirls who are attacked by chemical gas but also result in the world hearing your voice, he said.

Pahlavi highlighted that the world countries have realized that they should not limit their interactions to the regime, which does not represent the Iranian people. "If I have come here today to talk to the representatives of the governments, it is to make your voice heard and to say that investing in the people of Iran means guaranteeing democracy and freedom in the future and ending the threats of the Islamic Republic," he said.

During the meeting with the Iranian expatriates Thursday, Pahlavi talked about the transition to the future Iran free of the Islamic Republic, noting that after the collapse of the regimesomething similar to the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commissionwould be needed to deal with the crimes committed by regime officials. The commision was established by the new South African government in 1995 to help heal the country and bring about a reconciliation of its people by uncovering the truth about human rights violations that had occurred during the period of apartheid.

On Wednesday,Pahlavi also held a meeting with Senator Stefania Craxi, a member of the Chamber of Deputies, where he also held a presser following his talks with several other Italian parliamentarians.

During the Wednesday press conference, the leading opposition figure reiterated his call on world countries to support the uprising of the Iranians, saying, We all recognize that sanctions are perhaps to some great extent able to weaken such regimes and limit their means to repress their own citizenry... it is of course necessary but not sufficient because at some point there has to be an element of direct support to the citizens.

He went on to emphasize that it is of great importance for the people of Iran, especially the victims of the regime, to see and feel that they are not alone, and the world has finally heard their voice and are taking actual measures to support them and further punish the regime.

My political mission in life is to see to a transition, he said, highlighting that at the end of the day it's the Iranian people who make the final decision for their future. He added, for me that mission ends the day that the Constitutional project is offered to the nation by the Constitutional assembly and ratified by means of a referendum which will then establish the future system in Iran.

Since the beginning of the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement, ignited by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022, well-known figures of the Iranian opposition, such as Pahlavi, have been holding meetings with the government and parliamentary officials of Western countries hoping to further isolate the Islamic Republic in the global community and ensure support for the Iranians.

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Exiled Prince In Italy To Garner Support For Iran Protests -

The Iranian security services continue to arrest activists who participated in a conference last weekend, which discussed the chances of a referendum for a peaceful political transition to a secular regime.

Activists reported on Twitter that the security services arrested civil and political activist Abdollah Momeni in his home days after he participated in the "How to Save Iran" conference.

Momeni's arrest came after another conference participant held over the Clubhouse application, Alireza Beheshti Shirazi, was apprehended. Shirazi was an advisor to Mir Hossein Mousavi, who is under house arrest.

The authorities arrested veteran journalist Keyvan Samimi, 74, who was announced among the conference participants.

Samimi appeared in a video recording, calling for forming a National Salvation Front.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted the state-affiliated Jam-e Jam website saying that Shirazi was arrested as part of the judicial campaign against anti-revolutionary elements.

The authorities accused Mousavi's advisors of instigating the statement which called for ending Iran.

The website referred to a text published in early February, in which Mousavi called for "radical changes in Iran" by organizing a referendum on the constitution.

He described the paradoxical structure and unsustainable basic system as the major crisis in the country.

Jam-e Jam indicated that the three men participated in a virtual conference calling to overthrow the regime and draft a new constitution, reported by the AFP.

Mizan agency quoted an informed security official that Mousavi is under the control of the opposition Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization.

The security official said that Mousavi's latest statement was a "direct copy" of the rhetoric of the Organization.

He accused Ardeshir Amir Arjomand, a Paris-based political activist who runs the Kalima website and Mousavi's adviser, of being directly involved.

Arjomand was one of the founders of the "How to Save Iran" conference, which included a group of reformist activists calling for a peaceful and gradual transition to a secular regime.

Dozens of political and civil society activists at home and abroad participated in the conference, which discussed transitioning from religious rule to a secular democratic political system.

Mousavi was Iran's prime minister between 1981 and 1989 and ran for the presidential elections in 2009. Along with former Shura Council President Mahdi Karroubi, Mousavi protested the re-election of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, denouncing widespread fraud.

The former premier was not the only one who issued a controversial statement after the anniversary of the 1979 revolution last February.

Former President Mohammad Khatami tried to distance himself from this discourse, noting that reform was possible and urging a return to the constitution.

Earlier this week, Khatami reiterated his opposition to demands to overthrow the political system.

The former president, Hassan Rouhani, was also among the advocates of a referendum on "diplomacy," "domestic politics," and "the economy."

The top Sunni cleric in Iran, Abdolhamid Ismailzahi, repeatedly called for a referendum to choose the governing method that enjoys the support of the majority of the people.

The Imam of Zahedan's Friday prayer stressed that the referendum is the way out of the current problems in the country.

On April 18, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei rejected opposition to calls for a referendum on state policy, saying the various issues of the country cannot be put to a referendum because each referendum preoccupies the entire country for six months.

In statements published on his official website, Khamenei added, "Where in the world do they hold referendums for all issues?"

During the Eid sermon, Khamenei called for focusing on resolving issues and refraining from "marginal issues," warning that the enemies want to divide the nation.

Khamenei accused the enemies of aiming for conflict between Iranians because of different beliefs and sects, asserting the need to maintain unity to overcome challenges.

"The enemy is against the unity of the Iranian people," he said, adding that the different sects and beliefs can coexist and work together in the country.

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Iran Arrests Participants of a Conference Calling for Referendum - Asharq Al-awsat - English

DUBAI, April 26 (Reuters) - Belgium said on Wednesday an Iranian diplomat jailed there for 20 years will not soon be released in a prisoner swap, apparently contradicting Iran's judiciary.

In March, Belgium's Constitutional Court upheld a prisoner exchange treaty with Iran that could lead to Asadollah Assadi being swapped for jailed Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele.

"Belgium has requested an exchange and so have we for our diplomat Asadollah Assadi. Following the necessary protocols, such an exchange will be done soon," Iranian judiciary spokesperson Masoud Setayeshi said on Wednesday.

But a spokesperson for Belgian Justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne denied a deal had been reached.

"This is a false message from a rogue state that specialises in making false statements", Van Quickenborne said to Belgian public broadcaster VTM.

"They do this to manipulate and confuse an innocent compatriot and his family."

He also denied there would be a prison swap with another Belgian.

Last week, Belgium submitted a request to Iran that Vandecasteele be sent back to his country in accordance with the prisoner transfer treaty.

Assadi was jailed for 20-years in 2021 over a 2018 foiled bomb plot targeting an Iranian opposition group in Paris.

Vandecasteele was arrested on a visit to Iran in February 2022 and sentenced in January to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes on several charges including spying.

Belgium repeatedly said there were no grounds for the detention of Vandecasteele, saying he was convicted "for a fabricated series of crimes" and in retribution for Assadi's jailing.

Iran has called the accusation that Assadi was linked to an attack in Paris a "false flag" stunt by the exiled National Council of Resistance of Iran, which it calls a terrorist group.

Reporting by Dubai Newsroom, Editing by Andrew Heavens

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Belgium says no deal reached to free jailed Iran diplomat in swap - Reuters