Iranian police detained “a young boy with a feminine appearance”, accusing him of “promoting vulgarity and promiscuity” amid the country's continued human rights crackdowns.

The incident in Gonbad-e Kavus, was reported by the IRGC-affiliated Fars News. Citing Islamic principles, the Iranian regime has systematically oppressed and discriminated against queer people since the establishment of the clerical dictatorship.

Iranian authorities have resorted to derogatory labels and stigmatization when addressing LGBTQ citizens, referring to them as “deviant” and “sick.”

In July, Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi called homosexuality the “dirtiest” phenomena in human history.

“Western countries try to identify homosexuality as an index of civilization, while this is one of the dirtiest things which have been done in human history,” said Raisi, also a Shiite cleric.

Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported in 2022 that the Islamic Republic sentenced two LGBTQ activists to death on charges of “corruption on earth through the promotion of homosexuality.”

Despite the many challenges faced by LGBTQ individuals in Iran, they continue to confront dangers, including the risk of execution and other forms of punishment under the laws of the Islamic Republic.

On International Women’s Day in 2023, the Iranian Queer Liberation Front vowed to continue the fight against sexual and gender apartheid in Iran.