Tehran Metro CEO Quits Amid Canada Sanctions

Masoud Dorosti, CEO of Tehran Metro Company, has quit following sanctions imposed by Canada for his part in the city's crackdown on women defying hijab.

He was added to Canada's sanctions list on International Women's Day and the sanctions coincided with Dorosti's family's preparations to relocate to Canada, plans which will now have fallen flat.

It was Canada's 17th package of sanctions against Iran since Mahsa Amini's death in morality police custody in September 2022, targeting Dorosti and senior MP Zohreh Elahian for their "participation in violent repression of Iranian citizens", particularly women and girls. It takes the total to 153 individuals and 87 entities sanctioned.

Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said, “Canada will always defend the rights of women and girls. The Iranian regime and its supporters’ continued use of cruel and violent tactics against any demonstration of liberty of choices and free speech has led to an increasingly repressive environment in which women and girls face injury or death simply for expressing themselves or demanding their basic human rights.

"Our message is clear: this must end. We will continue to shine a spotlight on these blatant violations of human rights and call for the perpetrators to be held to account.”

Tehran metro has been the scene of heavy hijab patrols, last year leading to the death of a 16-year-old Iranian who was confronted by morality police for not complying with hijab rules.

Armita Geravand, a teenage student in Tehran, was assaulted by hijab enforcers in the metro, subsequently falling into a coma. She passed away after 28 days in hospital.

Amini's death in custody sparked the Women, Life, Freedom protests which have since triggered a nationwide hijab rebellion in which authorities have become increasingly brutal in fighting, including arbitrary arrest, sexual violence, and deepened surveillance.