The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran says she is monitoring the case of a young Iranian woman who was forcibly detained after protesting the country’s mandatory hijab by removing her clothes at Tehran's Azad University.
One might assume that some of these students rose to positions of power. Indeed, some did, but most eventually fell out of favor with Iran’s leaders, with a few even landing in jail. The exact number of those involved remains unknown. Now, 45 years later, only a handful remain untouched—and even they are viewed with disfavor by both the Iranian public and insiders within the establishment.
Former conservative lawmaker Ali Motahari, wrote last November that it was "an unnecessary move that was made with the provocations of leftist groups to serve the interests of the Embassy of the Soviet Union and the Tudeh Communist Party." Many others recall that the 1979 seizure of the US Embassy plunged Iran into decades of hardship, triggering a prolonged war and a crushing economic crisis for its people. But where are those who made that fateful decision?
Masoumeh Ebtekar, the spokesperson for the radical students, eventually rose to become President Hassan Rouhani’s vice president for women and family affairs and previously served as vice president for the environment. Last year, some lawmakers introduced a motion to take her to court over alleged failures in environmental protection.
Ebtekar is married to Mohammad Hashemi Esfahani, another former hostage-taker and who later became an Intelligence Ministry operative, and has been implicated in illicit oil sales. Known to the American hostages as "Sister Mary," Ebtekar was one of the few students who spoke English.
Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, who initially designed and masterminded the embassy seizure, remains active today as a self-proclaimed reformist. However, he is largely shunned by the reformist camp, who view him as an insider closely linked to Khamenei’s circle. According to the Mashregh News website, which is affiliated with Iranian intelligence, Asgharzadeh led the hostage-takers' “central council,” which included figures such as Ali Asghar Zahmatkesh, Abbas Abdi, Hashemi Esfahani, and others.
Abdi soon left the group. He later became the editor of leftist newspaper Salam and is currently a high-profile reformist commentator. He is the only hostage taker who later met with one of the hostages and reportedly apologized for his behavior.
Another well-known hostage taker was Mohammad Reza Khatami, former President Mohammad Khatami's brother and is nowhere to be seen after he fell out with the establishment. Khatami served as a deputy Majles Speaker in the 1990s.
Mohsen Aminzadeh, a prominent figure in the embassy seizure, later became a deputy foreign minister with ties to the Intelligence Ministry. He was jailed after the contested 2009 presidential election but has since been released.
Hossein Kamali went on to serve as Iran’s labor minister and was close to former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Until 1985, the former students held regular meetings at the US Embassy building, where they managed the translation and publication of seized embassy documents. In that year, the Intelligence Ministry took control of the remaining documents, halting further Persian translations. It was then that "The Students Following the Line of Imam Khomeini" chose to dissolve as a group or political organization.
Several former members, including Reza Seyfollahi, Aziz Jafari, and Hossein Dehghan, joined the armed forces. Seyfollahi served as Iran’s police chief for a few years before moving to the IRGC Intelligence Organization. Hossein Dehghan served as Iran’s interior minister for a few years. Aziz Jafari was the IRGC's commander-in-chief for several years until Hossein Salami succeeded him in 2019. Alireza Afshar led the Basij militia for several years before taking charge of the “soft war” department at the National Defense University, while Akbar Rafan was the IRGC’s first air force commander. Several former students lost their lives during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.
Habibollah Bitaraf, who was energy minister under President Khatami, currently faces criticism for policies that allegedly damaged Iran’s environment. Rahman Dadman served as Khatami’s road minister and died in a plane crash. Ezzatollah Zarghami, another former student who joined the IRGC, became deputy culture minister in the 1990s and later headed state television; he was also appointed cultural heritage and tourism minister under President Raisi.
One of the more interesting figures among the students was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who declined to participate in the embassy takeover. According to Hashemi Esfahani, Ahmadinejad argued that they should instead target the Russian Embassy.
This is the updated version of a similar article published on this website in November 2021.
Maio Sato shared a video of the student on the social media platform X, stating she would be following the incident closely, especially observing the response of authorities.
Footage circulated widely on Saturday shows the woman in her underwear on campus, with officers seen taking her into custody by force.
Imprisoned human rights activist and Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi issued a statement from prison, saying that that women pay a price for their defiance but do not bow to force.
She described the student’s body as a symbol of rebellion, anger, and resistance, calling for her release and an end to the suppression and harassment of women.
Amnesty Iran has called for the immediate and unconditional release of the student, urging officials to protect her from mistreatment while in custody.
“Authorities must protect her from torture and other ill-treatment and ensure access to [her] family and [a] lawyer", wrote Amnesty Iran on X, preempting prison abuse as has been widely documented by rights groups since the crackdowns on Women, Life, Freedom protests and women refusing hijab.
"Allegations of beatings and sexual violence against her during arrest need independent and impartial investigations. Those responsible must held to account,” the group said.
According to student sources, the woman’s protest was sparked by harassment from university security over the hijab policy. Amir Kabir Newsletter, a prominent student publication on Telegram, reported that the student was transferred to a psychiatric hospital under orders from the IRGC intelligence organization.
This was confirmed by the newspaper Farhikhtegan, affiliated with Azad University, which stated that she had been admitted to a mental health facility.
On the same day, Amir Mahjoub, the Director of Public Relations at Islamic Azad University, issued a statement saying that the woman had been sent to a police station due to “severe psychological distress,” echoing statements from media accounts close to the IRGC that she had mental health issues.
State-affiliated outlets later circulated a video of a man identifying himself as her husband, who claimed she was the mother of two and claimed that she had mental health issues.
The incident has since drawn public backlash online, with social media users denouncing what they see as a familiar tactic used by authorities to delegitimize female protestors by labeling them as mentally unstable.
In a show of solidarity, the hashtag Science and Research Girl has emerged as a focal point for those opposing Iran’s treatment of women who defy hijab mandates.
Prominent Iranian figures also voiced support for the young woman’s protest. Katayoun Riahi, an actress who was among the supporters of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, posted, "we will not abandon you".
Civil activist Hossein Ronaghi added on X, “The courage of this girl who was attacked for her hijab… are flames that will burn the roots of oppression.”
Another activist, Roya Heshmati, who previously faced lashings for not wearing a hijab, posted on Instagram, “May your pride and defiance become a blazing torch in the dark chasm that lies before you, my dear sister.”
Many are also creating and sharing illustrations on social media in support of the young student.
Human rights advocates point to a pattern of Iranian authorities labeling female protestors as mentally ill and transferring them to psychiatric facilities.
Last year, Iranian psychology associations publicly criticized the government’s misuse of psychiatry as a tool for silencing dissidents.
In May, prominent psychotherapist Ahmadreza Yazdi warned against politicizing psychiatry, suggesting that some professionals may align with the Islamic Republic’s ideology and unjustly label opposition figures as mentally unstable.
The crackdown on women protesting the mandatory hijab intensified in the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death in September 2022 while in morality police custody. That event triggered widespread demonstrations, with many Iranians calling for greater freedoms and challenging systemic oppression.
