You Can Be Trans In Iran, But Being Gay Might Get You Killed

In 2019, a journalist asked Iranian Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif why people are executed in Iran for being gay. His response: “Our society has moral principles. And we live according to these principles … That means that the law is respected, and the law is obeyed.”

Under Islamic law, homosexuality is a crime punishable by imprisonment or execution for those who violate it. One could assume the conservative Islamic regime would produce similar consequences for transgenderism. But it is, in fact, legal and religiously permissible.

In the Western world, LGBT advancements are seen as a form of liberation. But in Iran, a complex dichotomy remains — where homosexuality can lead to death, yet transgenderism is given the green light. However, the practice is not celebrated so much as it is utilized as a cure for homosexuality. And in some cases, it is involuntary.

Transgenderism in Iran first surfaced in the 1980s. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founding supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, issued a fatwa — a religious decree — to legalize transgenderism, with the requirement that they are diagnosed with gender dysphoria and undergo surgery for sex changes. Maryam Khatoon Molkara, an Iranian transgender activist, is credited as the driving force of the movement. After years of writing letters and persisting with Khomeini, even visiting his home to plead his case, Molkara convinced the supreme leader to authorize transgender surgery in 1987.

Khomeini determined there was nothing in religious law that condemned transgenderism; rather, it could medically serve as a correction for the mental disorder.

A religious cleric, Hojatolislam Muhammad Mehdi Kariminia, famously said an operation is no more a sin than “changing wheat to flour to bread.”

He said, “Islam has a cure for people suffering from this problem. If they want to change their gender, the path is open.”

But Kariminia clarified his stance on homosexuality. “The discussion is fundamentally separate … Absolutely not related. Homosexuals are doing something unnatural and against religion,” Kariminia added.

However, ongoing reports suggest transgenderism in Iran may at times be exploited. Put plainly, some may be forced to transition.

A New York Times article published in October 2025 highlights the paradox: “For 40 years Iran has performed more gender transition surgeries than many other nations, largely a result of pressuring gay and gender-nonconforming citizens to undergo unwanted operations or risk the death penalty.”

The United Nations also expressed its concerns in a 2023 report that gay and lesbian Iranians are being “pressured into undergoing gender reassignment surgery without their free consent.”

An Associated Press article from 2018 stated that transgender surgery in Iran aims to cure the “disease,” and that those who “choose not to undergo surgery and get new documents can face arrest by police for dressing in a way that contradicts their government-recognized gender.”

As one of the few Muslim countries that offer these surgeries, Iran seems to be capitalizing on the endeavor: “Now, faced with an economy crippled by war and sanctions, the Islamic Republic is promoting its expertise to a global audience, hoping to attract transgender foreigners with the promise of inexpensive surgeries packaged with luxury hotel stays and sightseeing tours,” the Times noted.

According to the website of the medical company IranMedTour, compared to the cost of a transgender procedure in the United States (which can be $45,000), transgender surgery in Iran is much lower, with prices less than $12,000. “Other companies advertise procedures at government hospitals for as low as $4,500.”

The goal, according to the outlet citing Iranian media, is to raise over $7 billion annually in medical tourism.

What started as a plea for “transgender rights” from Molkara has turned into a compulsory crackdown on homosexuality and a vending machine bringing in cash from the rest of the world.