Iran: mass strike starts amid mixed messages around abolishment of morality police

Shopkeepers and truck drivers from almost 40 cities are participating in mass walkouts

Iranian shopkeepers and truck drivers staged a walkout in nearly 40 cities and towns on Monday after calls for a three-day nationwide general strike from protesters as the government declined to confirm a claim by a senior official that the morality police had been abolished.

Iranian newspapers instead reported an increase in patrols, especially in religious cities, requiring women to wear the hijab, and shop managers being directed by the police to reinforce hijab restrictions.