Iran's state-run media acknowledged on Thursday that at least 17 people have been killed in anti-government protests which have spread across the country. The unrest was sparked by the death of a woman detained by the country's so-called "morality police," apparently for not covering her hair as required by Iran's strict Islamic laws.
One charity operating in Iran put the death toll higher, at 31, but CBS News could not verify the figure.
The morality police, who are tasked specifically with enforcing Iran's strict Islamic dress code and other religious edicts, arrested 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last week while her family was visiting the capital, Tehran.
The special unit accused her of wearing "unsuitable attire." She died in detention after three days, with officials saying she suffered a heart attack. Critics believe she was beaten after an image surfaced of her bruised, bloodied and intubated body.
"Iranian women, under the law that was imposed in 1981 after the [Islamic] revolution, are required to cover their hair and dress modestly," Dr. Sanam Vakil, a Middle East policy expert and Iran specialist at London's Chatham House think-tank, told CBS News. "Over the past 40 years, Iranian women have been pushing back against this mandatory veiling requirement, and there is a morality police that polices the streets, brings women in, punishes them."
On Thursday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Amini's death would be "thoroughly investigated," according to AFP.
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on the morality police and other Iranian government officials, The Associated Press reported. Individuals targeted by the sanctions included the leaders of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security, the Army's Ground Forces, the Basij Resistance Forces and other law enforcement agencies, according to AP.
Amini's death has sparked Iran's biggest mass protests since at least 2019, when public anger over skyrocketing gas prices drew huge crowds into the streets.
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