Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, told the High Council of the Judiciary on Monday, October 5, that officials must avoid “polarization and anything that upsets and angers the people.” He paired the warning with a call for “absolute obedience” to the Supreme Leader’s orders and for unity against what he called the enemy’s plots, according to Nour News. Regime-aligned outlets, including Arman-e Melli, ran it under the headline “Let’s not anger the people.”

In the same speech, Ejei said the judiciary would not be intimidated by public “uproar” when issuing rulings, and that prosecutors would confront “social anomalies” with “strength and decisiveness.” He also said some of the controversy around the judiciary was driven by political and factional interests, adding that he could list more than ten examples.

Analysis: anger as a security problem

The warning was not a promise of relief. Ejei announced no economic measures and offered no concessions. His concern was the reaction, not its causes. Senior officials increasingly describe Iran’s economic collapse as a security vulnerability, something an enemy could exploit, rather than a failure of government.

The contradiction was on display the same morning. Hours before Ejei spoke, the judiciary he runs hanged two young men arrested during the January uprising. The message to officials is to avoid provoking public anger. The message to the public is what happens to those who express it.

His reference to factional “uproar” matters too. It suggests the infighting that has followed Mojtaba Khamenei’s succession is reaching the judiciary itself. When the head of the institution that carries out the regime’s death sentences starts talking about not angering the people, it is an admission that the leadership fears the next wave of protest more than it fears the last one.