What the law allows
Full record
The state permits sex-reassignment surgery. It criminalises homosexuality. That combination is conversion pressure.
The official source is the UK Home Office Country Policy and Information Note: Iran — sexual orientation and gender identity or expression (Version 5.0, December 2025; PDF). Collection page: Iran country policy and information notes.
The CPIN’s own assessment:
- The Islamic Penal Code criminalises all same-sex sexual activity. Penalties range from flogging to the death penalty. Those penalties also apply to children under 18.
- The government permits, and may subsidise, gender reassignment surgery for people formally diagnosed with “gender identity disorder.” Legal sex is recognised only after surgery, opposite-sex hormones, sterilisation, and a court process. The note records a 1980s Khomeini fatwa authorising sex-change surgery, later reflected in the 2013 Family Protection Law.
- Homosexuality is treated as something to be “corrected” by conversion therapies or gender reassignment. Some people who do not identify as trans feel pressured or forced into surgery to avoid discrimination or criminal charges.
The medical badge is Affirming: the state still runs a sex-reassignment pathway. That is conversion pressure, not protection of children.