Iran’s Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei warned of strict punishment for women flouting hijab rules.

As the regime continues to fight a losing battle against the hijab rebellion, he said Saturday that “removing hijab is considered as enmity with values” and people who do not obey the rule will be "punished".

As the number of Iranian women defying compulsory hijab rules are on the rise, regime officials keep warning them that the Islamic Republic will not back down on the dress code.

He further threatened to prosecute women who appear in public unveiled, saying that “unveiling is tantamount to enmity with (our) values. [Those] who commit such anomalous acts will be punished and prosecuted without mercy,” however he declined to mention what the punishment entails.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ejei added that law enforcement forces are “obliged to refer obvious crimes and any kind of abnormality that is against the religious law and occurs in public to judicial authorities”.

Following the death in custody of 22-year-old Kurdish girl Mahsa Amini for ‘improper hijab’ in September, a growing number of Iranian women and girls have been ditching their veils during the nationwide protests.

Iranian women now are risking arrest by going out without headscarves in public places, streets, malls, shops, banks, cafes, and even airports.

The comments by Iran's chief justice follow warnings from the interior ministry reinforcing the regime’s compulsory hijab law.

Hijab was described in the statement as one of the “foundations of the civilization of the Iranian nation” and “one of the practical principles of the Islamic Republic.”

It also called on the ordinary citizens to confront the women who refuse to wear hijab.