The security forces would now take stricter action against women who violate the headscarf ban in “public places, in vehicles and elsewhere,” said a statement published on the police website on Saturday. Technologies would also be used to identify those affected – i.e. recognition software.

Taking off the hijab is a criminal offense, the statement quoted security police chief Hassan Mofakhami as saying. Anyone who breaks the law should be held accountable. This also applies to companies that allow women to take off their headscarves at work. They would first be warned, if it happened again they would have to expect their closure.

The police said on Sunday that vehicle owners would also be warned in the future if an inmate should violate the dress code. If this happens again, the vehicle may be confiscated. In the past 24 hours, police officers have “hundreds of cases” found car occupants without headscarves. Police spokesman Montaserolmahdi added that the holders had been informed of the violation by SMS.

A week ago, police chief Achmad-Resa Radan announced the use of “intelligent cameras and other devices” in public places and streets to punish violations of the dress code.

There have been protests in Iran for months, triggered by the death of the young Kurd Mahsa Amini. She died in mid-September after the vice police arrested her in Tehran for violating the strict headscarf regulations for women. Since then, the number of women defying the rules has continued to increase.

At the end of March, the head of Iran’s judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Edschei, announced that removing the veil would be viewed as “hostility to Iran’s values” and would be punished accordingly.