Althouse: "In Iran, gay men and lesbians can be punished by public flogging and the death penalty."

October 17, 2025

"In Iran, gay men and lesbians can be punished by public flogging and the death penalty."

"As a result, the United Nations Human Rights Council found, many gay and lesbian Iranians who are not trans are 'pressured into undergoing gender reassignment surgery without their free consent.'... Sam, 32, a trans man from Orange County, Calif., is currently in Tehran to pursue a hysterectomy and metoidioplasty, a kind of penis-construction surgery. Requesting anonymity to discuss a sensitive medical procedure, he said he was drawn to Iran because he believed the doctors there were 'more confident' than those in the United States.... Iran’s experience with transition surgery stems from a fatwa issued in the 1980s by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founding supreme leader of the Islamic republic, who declared that transgender individuals could gain legal recognition of the gender with which they identified, but only on the condition that they underwent transition surgery."

From "Iran Lures Transgender Foreigners for Surgery but Forces Operations on Locals/Iran became a pioneer in gender transition operations by forcing procedures on L.G.B.T.Q. Iranians. Desperate for cash, the Islamic republic is hoping to attract trans patients from around the world" (NYT)(free-access link).

102 comments:

Danno said...: He didn't mention the visitors are invited to a cocktail reception on the 4th floor deck bext week.; 10/17/25, 6:29 AM
Danno said...: next; 10/17/25, 6:30 AM
policraticus said...: Follow the Science,; 10/17/25, 6:30 AM
rehajm said...: …how ye can compartmentalize the ideological incongruence seems another manifestation of mental illness. Perhaps it’s a symptom of the little high some people get from international travel and the immersion in a culture not their own…; 10/17/25, 6:35 AM
Leland said...: They will also to flock to Iran to show their hatred of Trump.; 10/17/25, 6:40 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: Creepiest story in a long time.; 10/17/25, 6:43 AM
Money Manger said...: It is virtually impossible for an American to get a visa to visit Iran now. This is not the full story.; 10/17/25, 6:45 AM
Wince said...: "So, I guess we both lost our furry little guy."; 10/17/25, 6:46 AM
Iman said...: Own it, Wankercrats!; 10/17/25, 6:47 AM
Iman said...: Must be quite a view from up there, Danno!; 10/17/25, 6:49 AM
Tom T. said...: This has been well known for years.; 10/17/25, 6:49 AM
hanuman_prodigious_leaper said...: You can get hand surgically removed too
as punishment or fetish; 10/17/25, 6:50 AM
Paul said...: And yet the left wants Iran to be a nuke country... they support Muslims even though the Muslims want to kill a lot of the gay and trans on the left... just a fact.; 10/17/25, 6:51 AM
Wince said...: Leland said...
"They will also to flock to Iran to show their hatred of Trump."

And Iran, Iran so far away
I just ran, Iran all night and day
I couldn't get away

- A Flock of Seagulls; 10/17/25, 6:51 AM
Political Junkie said...: If a trans or gay person goes to Iran, they deserve whatever happens.; 10/17/25, 6:52 AM
Political Junkie said...: Wince at 651 - Now whenever I see/hear that song I think of La La Land.; 10/17/25, 6:54 AM
Beasts of England said...: ’…transgender individuals could gain legal recognition of the gender with which they identified, but only on the condition that they underwent transition surgery.’

That’s the way it should be. Have some skin in the game. And don’t go off half-cocked.; 10/17/25, 6:57 AM
Wince said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 7:08 AM
Wince said...: "And here's a song that might help you cope with some of those feelings... mmm-kay."

A Flock of... Lesbian Seagulls.; 10/17/25, 7:13 AM
Iman said...: ‘We dropped Stacey Abrams on Iran’s nuke installation, called it “Operation: Extremely Large Hammer”. We could’ve used Kamala and that would’ve been called “Operation: Hammered by Noon”.’

—— Not Trump; 10/17/25, 7:19 AM
Quaestor said...: I see NYT is still operated by science deniers.

What next for the Gray Trans Man, front page articles about flat Earth and NASA's lunar landing hoax?; 10/17/25, 7:21 AM
MadTownGuy said...: "Iran’s experience with transition surgery stems from a fatwa issued in the 1980s by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founding supreme leader of the Islamic republic, who declared that transgender individuals could gain legal recognition of the gender with which they identified, but only on the condition that they underwent transition surgery."

Intersectionality between Marx and Jihad.; 10/17/25, 7:23 AM
Iman said...: “We’ve now got a new 2,000 lb. bunker buster, we’re
calling it Katie Porter. Hamas keeps acting up in Gaza, we’ll flatten their narrow asses.”

—— Not Trump; 10/17/25, 7:25 AM
Derve said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 7:26 AM
Derve said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 7:26 AM
Derve said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 7:27 AM
Political Junkie said...: Iman - Very nice.; 10/17/25, 7:31 AM
Caroline said...: Strange bedfellows indeed!; 10/17/25, 7:31 AM
tim maguire said...: I understand the families of death camp guards got some pretty cool stuff too.

So, silver linings.; 10/17/25, 7:32 AM
tcrosse said...: Trans women are "women".; 10/17/25, 7:36 AM
Derve said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 7:38 AM
Derve said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 7:41 AM
Derve said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 7:41 AM
Mr. T. said...: Can't make this stuff up...; 10/17/25, 7:41 AM
jim5301 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 7:42 AM
jim5301 said...: Have they no sense of right and wrong? Put aside the fact that Iran will use the money to support terror around the world. Any doctor who performs such surgery on patients over their objections deserves to be shot. One would think there would be some sense of solidarity with fellow members of the lgbt+ community.; 10/17/25, 7:45 AM
TaeJohnDo said...: BofE "That’s the way it should be. Have some skin in the game. And don’t go off half-cocked."

Ballsy comment.; 10/17/25, 7:47 AM
Joe Bar said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 7:47 AM
Derve said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 7:47 AM
Michael said...: 72 virgins are kinda worthless once you've had your cock cut off; 10/17/25, 7:51 AM
Spiros said...: Can these people get married in Iran after they are transitioned?; 10/17/25, 7:51 AM
Derve said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 7:56 AM
Derve said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 7:57 AM
Derve said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 7:59 AM
Roger Sweeny said...: "Any doctor who performs such surgery on patients over their objections deserves to be shot. One would think there would be some sense of solidarity with fellow members of the lgbt+ community."

That assumes there is one unitary LGBT+ community. Which is useful politically but is not true. Andrew Sullivan has been complaining for years that a lot of trans stuff erases gay people. J.K. Rowling (not gay herself) says that all women, gay or straight, are hurt by being forced to interact with "people with dicks" who say they are women. A number of non-straight women agree with her. "I'm a lesbian. Don't try to shame me for not dating trans women."; 10/17/25, 8:02 AM
Bob Boyd said...: This isn't Sam Brinton is it?; 10/17/25, 8:05 AM
Steven said...: The "urologist" in the first photo is a great picture. Excessively unbottoned shirt, loud suit, giant ring, fancy watch, and wearing sunglasses indoors. It's a fantastic photo. He could be the leader of some organized crime organization rather than a surgeon.

About the rest of the article, I don't really care what the trans people do if they would just leave the rest of us alone.; 10/17/25, 8:09 AM
Jamie said...: jim5301, absolutely, with regard to ethics. Roger Sweeney's comment (which was certainly correct but not all that relevant to what you were talking about - see also Douglas Murray on how "LGBTQ" got lumped together despite none of the individual letters really having much common cause with the others or even getting along very well) notwithstanding, I'm happy that we share this principle.; 10/17/25, 8:15 AM
gilbar said...: and, i case you were Wondering;
WHY the alligence between the woke left and Islam? There you GO!; 10/17/25, 8:17 AM
Jamie said...: Steven @8:09, I just went to look - you are NOT WRONG. Pure central casting - but for what role?!; 10/17/25, 8:17 AM
Saint Croix said...: Interesting that doctors -- who have been at war with heterosexual reproduction for a while -- are now at war with homosexuality as well.

Our culture teaches us that we are not lovable, and medicine can fix us.

Are you sure you are following Hippocrates? Stab, stab, cut, cut, baby gone, womb gone, breast implants and a penis implant. "We will give you Vulcan ears for free. And we take credit cards."

Next!; 10/17/25, 8:18 AM
Saint Croix said...: Kudos to the NYT for reporting on this!; 10/17/25, 8:21 AM
john mosby said...: Roger Sweeny: ""I'm a lesbian. Don't try to shame me for not dating trans women.""

I hear that every night as I hang out in lesbian bars with my moustache and Hai Karate cologne. I usually counter it with "don't try to shame me for not conforming to the patriarchy's standards for female beauty. I'm a woman, w-o-m-a-n. From the tip of my cock to the bottom of my ball sack." CC, JSM; 10/17/25, 8:22 AM
n.n said...: Gender refers to sex-correlated attributes (e.g. sexual orientation): masculine and feminine. Trans indicates a state or process of divergence. The transgender spectrum includes homosexuals and simulants.; 10/17/25, 8:23 AM
Mr. T. said...: Why travel to Iran when you can go to Looney Loudoun or Arlington? Worked for Richard Kenneth Cox-just ask Groomer gadfly.; 10/17/25, 8:24 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Why are they telling me this and why now?
They want the government to pay for trans surgeries so they need a sort of "back alley abortionists" equivalent?; 10/17/25, 8:25 AM
Aggie said...: One Giant Leap for trans-mankind; 10/17/25, 8:28 AM
Derve said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 8:29 AM
Derve said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 8:31 AM
n.n said...: Transitioning occurs with corruption through surgical, medical, and [psychiatric] grooming. Homos presumably transition some time after conception through environmental corruption in the womb and later. Sims also transition through surgical and medical corruption in liberal cultures where there is caring for lifelong profit. Homosexuals are bigendered with a hetero fetish and some transition through surgical and medical corruption to affirm this.; 10/17/25, 8:32 AM
n.n said...: The effort by homos and aligned persons to socially distance from sims is because of pervasive Diversity and the Pro-Choice religious dissonance of political congruence ("=") in progressive sects. Similar to the use of fetus "=" baby, when a life is deemed unworthy of life, a "burden". The problem for sins is when they are transsocial, particularly when they mimic the feminine gender, which poses a clear and progressive risk to women and girls. #HateLovesAbortion; 10/17/25, 8:41 AM
BarrySanders20 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 8:41 AM
BarrySanders20 said...: A match made in the heavenly paradise. If something tragic and unintentional happens during the intentional mutilation, the prospective trannie gets 72 virgins of whatever gender they choose.; 10/17/25, 8:42 AM
Saint Croix said...: Reporters ought to ask Mamdani his opinion on all this.

Zohran Mamdani Fails the Hamas Test

Mamdani tries to argue that he is only focused on NYC, and will try to avoid the question. But he also wants to arrest Bibi if he ever comes to New York. And he says there is no room for Zionists in the Democrat party.; 10/17/25, 8:45 AM
Christopher B said...: LOL at jimmy numbers all in a huff. Now apply that logic to doctors in the US butchering kids.; 10/17/25, 8:48 AM
Cappy said...: I suffer a concussion from that face palm.; 10/17/25, 8:52 AM
Derve said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 8:56 AM
n.n said...: Queer is transsocial including males mocking females in typical dress, etc, and are not in and of themselves transgendered, but rather phobic (imitation is not always flattery). Trans includes homos and sims.; 10/17/25, 8:59 AM
n.n said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 9:01 AM
Peachy+2 said...: Iran sponsors Hamas! Leftists - celebrate!; 10/17/25, 9:03 AM
Peachy+2 said...: New York City is about to hire someone who worships Hamas.; 10/17/25, 9:04 AM
n.n said...: Mamdani is a NYZI. Is he a Diversitist, too? Does he entertain abortive ideation to relieve "burdens"? He clearly supports redistributive change.; 10/17/25, 9:05 AM
Saint Croix said...: Mamdani is Islamic and a Communist, a rare twofer.

In our Bible's Old Testament, one of the Commandments is that we can't eat shellfish (Jesus wiped that one away). Another commandment is that selling food for profit is immoral. And that charging interest is immoral.

In my Bible study one time, I had a priest tell us that we had really gotten away from the Bible when we started charging interest. And I was like, "But you can't get a house without a mortgage. Charging interest has made us all richer, and given us homes. Making it illegal to charge interest, it's like Communism, you impoverish the whole society."

It's interesting to think about what's causing this problem. No doubt Moses (if it was Moses, scholars debate that) prayed to the Lord, and it was revealed to him that charging interest is dangerous, because it makes people greedy. It's a money-making scheme, right? We all agree on that. And Moses, like Islam today, and Marxists, all want to wipe out greed.

And what happens, when you attempt to punish people for their spiritual sins, and lock them in cages for violating your interpretation of God's laws? You impoverish everybody, and make it hell on earth. That's why Islamic societies and Marxists societies are often rotten places to live. The urge to punish spiritual sins and control people for God (or "humanity") can be demonic. The Lord, after all, gives us free will.

My grandfather, a pretty strict Baptist (in fourth grade I made a mistake of calling my little brother a "fool," and I thought that was a PG word, I was watching my mouth, trying to avoid "shithead" or "stupid fucker," and boy oh boy did my grandparents flip out over "fool"), owned a grocery store. My granddad charged people money to buy food. Was it a sin? No! People got to eat! I am sure that was his conclusion.

Moses was giving a commandment for an agrarian society where farmers have surplus food. And his point was that you should give it away. And so you should! Where the evil pops in is when authorities, whose love of power can often be demonic, start locking up anybody for selling food for profit.

God tells us that we ought to give away our possessions, out of love. Satan grabs our possessions and tells us how evil we are for having them.; 10/17/25, 9:06 AM
n.n said...: Iran sponsors Hamas! Leftists - celebrate!

The Iran-Hamas Affair. ISIS, too? Billions of dollars in contested funds released during the Obama administration amid ethnic Springs.; 10/17/25, 9:09 AM
Howard (not that Howard) said...: Very cosmopolitan.; 10/17/25, 9:10 AM
n.n said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/17/25, 9:13 AM
Peachy+2 said...: test; 10/17/25, 9:15 AM
n.n said...: Hamasidols are a threat to Israelis, Gazans, West Bankers, and others, too.; 10/17/25, 9:15 AM
Peachy+2 said...: The Dems will do to us what the horror show leftists in Britain did to England. Radical leftists and Jew hating Nazi Islamic males in charge. Right next to the corrupt Pritzker mafia.; 10/17/25, 9:17 AM
MacMacConnell said...: CASH! That is the same reason American doctors so enthusiastically do it. Same with abortions.; 10/17/25, 9:21 AM
n.n said...: We should be charitable, but not slaves.; 10/17/25, 9:24 AM
jim5301 said...: Christopher B - Actually my views align with JK Rawlings, who if you didn't know is liberal. What's that noise? - sound of Christopher's head exploding as he begins to realize that not all non-MAGA folk agree on all issues.; 10/17/25, 9:29 AM
Tina Trent said...: So they're good with spending their money where women are mutilated slaves and gays are killed for being gay and it's OK to screw little boys.

Sounds about right.; 10/17/25, 9:31 AM
Saint Croix said...: Iran’s theocratic government has set a goal of generating more than $7 billion from medical tourism annually

"We will castrate your son for free! Paradise! No, wait, here's the bill."

"We will rape your daughter for free. Most of our atrocities are freebies. But we also have to pay the bills."; 10/17/25, 9:33 AM
Joe Bar said...: No. Stop. I already hate the Iranian mullahs, you don't need to convince me.; 10/17/25, 9:44 AM
Deep State Reformer said...: Yah. So sad for them. OTOH though they aren't walking around schools and parks, where the kids are, butt-naked except for hats & sandals either. Nor are the libraries, parks, and other public spaces being used for kid-enticing drag queen shows, so there's that as well. "Liberty" (libertine) or social order & decency are choice we make as a society. Just sayin'.; 10/17/25, 10:42 AM
MikeD said...: I've commented on & discussed this fact on many threads over the trans mania years. Good to see NYT has caught up to a random nobody!; 10/17/25, 11:10 AM
PM said...: Iran really sounds like Miseryland.; 10/17/25, 11:36 AM
Leora said...: This was part of the plot of an episode of Blacklist.; 10/17/25, 11:38 AM
Mr. T. said...: jim5301 said...
"Christopher B - Actually my views align with JK Rawlings, who if you didn't know is liberal. What's that noise? - sound of Christopher's head exploding as he begins to realize that not all non-MAGA folk agree on all issues."

Then why are all your "folk" sending death threats to Keira Knightley for not calling for death threats to J.K. Rowling??; 10/17/25, 11:59 AM
n.n said...: The second Rainbow flag is transphobic.

The first Rainbow flag is albinophobic.

Political congruence of couples and couplets, sex and gender sims, baby and fetus, are a transgressive artifact of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion.; 10/17/25, 12:16 PM
MadisonMan said...: What could go wrong?; 10/17/25, 12:17 PM
Rabel said...: Interesting, but if I'm looking for a new penis or vagina I think I'd have to avoid Shahryar's Discount Dicks and Achmed's Wholesale Holes and choose a full service vendor with at least a solid 4.5 star average review on Yelp.

Of course, a going out of business sale could change my mind if the price was right.; 10/17/25, 12:47 PM
Rabel said...: Also need to note that the free link actually worked this time.; 10/17/25, 12:50 PM
n.n said...: Detach a penis from a boy, attach a penis to a girl. Carve a hole in the boy, attach fleshly mounds from the girl. Equity and inclusion.

A eunuch in Iran. A homosexual in Greece. Islam and Democracy make broke back friends with "benefits" and profit.; 10/17/25, 1:19 PM
Jamie said...: When someone from across the aisle holds the same view I do about... well, just about anything, I consider that a positive (she said mildly).; 10/17/25, 1:33 PM
jim said...: Ain't religion great.; 10/17/25, 1:50 PM
n.n said...: Iranian Muslims are liberals who subscribe to the Pro-Choice religion. Ethics is the theory of moral relativity.; 10/17/25, 2:27 PM
Craig Mc said...: Why, it sounds like troon paradise! Apply to migrate now at your local Iranian consulate (assuming it hasn't been shut down for terrorist activities).; 10/17/25, 4:59 PM
n.n said...: Transatlantic trends? With a profit motive, the same as in our neck of the woods. Watch that first step.; 10/17/25, 8:23 PM
Jake said...: Iran is so woke.; 10/17/25, 10:57 PM
Iman said...: Rabel… went online, you should check out Mehran’s House of Johnson.; 10/17/25, 11:36 PM