In light of the violence and oppressive conduct toward women attributed to various federal law enforcement agencies, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, announced at a press conference in Tehran on Thursday, 22 January 2026, that Iran will offer asylum to any American woman seeking to escape “the indignity of living under a Trump presidency.”

Responding to criticisms of Iran’s abysmal treatment of women, Khamenei argued that it was fundamentally misguided to draw a moral equivalence between the two nations’ attitudes toward women.

“Iran’s approach to women’s rights and freedoms is guided by its strict observance of the doctrine established by an all-powerful, self-proclaimed messiah who married multiple times, was an avant-garde admirer of youthful elegance despite associated taboos, declared himself their ‘protector,’ stipulated appropriate gender roles, imposed sensible restrictions on women’s bodily autonomy, and whose followers believe that all desirable women should marry early in life and celebrate their role as givers of life. In stark contrast, the currently prevalent U.S. philosophy toward women merely reflects a narcissistic chauvinist’s treatment of women,” Khamenei clarified.

Khamenei further noted that, in addition to escaping the abhorrent mistreatment and denigration that a second Trump presidency, in his view, promises to unleash, asylum in Iran would also offer freedom from the constant objectification of the female body and the unrelenting pressure to maintain one’s figure that is glamorised in American culture.

Iran has also promised an expedited path to citizenship for all American women with expertise in nuclear physics or with experience in the construction or operation of nuclear weapons research and development facilities.