In the wake of the nationwide protests that gripped Iran at the turn of 2018, leading to over two dozen deaths and putting hundreds behind bars, President Hassan Rouhani was among the few within the ruling elite to express the need for “authorized protest sites.” After a few months, the idea now seems closer to being translated into action.

During a June 10 Cabinet meeting, the administration ratified a detailed plan specifying such venues in the capital city of Tehran, ranging from large stadiums to popular parks and even one site just outside the parliament’s premises. The decision was, in a way, an amendment to an existing law enshrined in Article 27 of the Iranian Constitution, allowing “peaceful and unarmed” rallies if they are in no breach of “Islamic principles.” What the government approved was also a proposal originally drafted by Tehran’s city council only a few weeks following the December-January protests.

As is the case with any other controversial issue in Iranian politics, reactions to the move have been mixed. An outspoken critic of nearly every step the Rouhani administration takes, the hard-line paper Kayhan, did not hesitate to hit back. On its June 12 front page, the newspaper questioned the importance and timing of the plan, reminding the government to prioritize its duties. “Providing appropriate locations for legal public rallies is a positive step. But the question is whether this is the nation’s real demand and concern these days,” the article said.

Citing what it said to be the latest figures on skyrocketing inflation, unemployment, recession, untamed imports, currency devaluation and industrial bankruptcy, Kayhan wondered if the Rouhani government is by any means aware of people’s pressing problems. The paper described such steps as “riding the wave of people’s demands” — a corollary to the "issue of Charter on Citizens’ Rights that Rouhani took advantage of during his [2017] re-election campaign.”