Country Overview
Iran
At a glance
Same-sex Relations for Men Legal Throughout the Country?
Same-sex Relations for Women Legal Throughout the Country?
Legal Gender Recognition Possible?
LGBTI Orgs Able to Register?
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Iran criminalizes same-sex sexual relations with a maximum penalty of death. Iran allows transgender people who have undergone gender-affirming surgery to change their legal gender markers, but transgender Iranians are still subject to violence, discrimination, social rejection, and harassment. Iran has strict censorship laws that are used to ban LGBTIQ-related media and communications. The UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran reported in March 2025 that LGBTQ+ people are subjected to “discriminatory public statements by officials, at the highest levels.” During protests that were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, many LGBTIQ people also joined calls demanding rights and freedoms. Although this caused a political backlash, it also strengthened the visibility of LGBTIQ movements in Iran. The fact-finding mission also found that LGBTQ+ people arrested in the context of the protest were subjected to “dehumanising insults, threats and treatment amounting to torture” and that these violations may constitute gender persecution.
*Outright research indicates bodily autonomy of intersex people is not respected and protected.
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