Hassan Rohani urged government bodies to refrain from overt interference in people’s lives in a speech on Saturday May 24. Mehr News Agency reports that the Iranian president said in his speech regarding public health: “Let us not interfere so much in people’s lives…people cannot be bullied into going to heaven with whips.”

“People choose the path to heaven on their own,” Rohani was quoted as saying; “We must do everything in our power to bring peace to society.”

The president’s statements that the people should not be badgered for “small and insignificant matters” comes on the very day head of security forces Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam announced that his forces have confronted 3.6 million people in the past year in connection with wearing inappropriate outfits in public.

Radio Zamaneh