See https://www.thepinknews.com/2020/02/22/iran-gay-forced-gende...:

> Shadi Amin, an Iranian-born activist, told The Sun that this homophobic Iranian regime is controlled by religious extremists who view being gay as an "illness". They believe that the only way it can be cured is by changing gender.

> "The government believes that if you are a gay man, your soul is that of a woman and you should change your body," Amin said.

> "We think this is a way [for them] to fight the existence of homosexual people because you change their body and you solve the problem.

> "The regime gives gay people two choices – to be arrested as a homosexual and risk punishment or even execution, or change your body."

> Government data shows that around 4000 gender reassignment surgeries are performed in Iran each year.

> Amin, however, claims that those numbers are actually much higher in reality.

> "They are trying to cleanse the country of homosexuals," she added.

> "They would rather carry out mass surgeries than executions because they know the world is watching them."

From the article:

> Shadi Amin, an Iranian-born activist, told The Sun that this homophobic Iranian regime is controlled by religious extremists who view being gay as an "illness". They believe that the only way it can be cured is by changing gender.

> "The government believes that if you are a gay man, your soul is that of a woman and you should change your body," Amin said.

> "We think this is a way [for them] to fight the existence of homosexual people because you change their body and you solve the problem.

> "The regime gives gay people two choices – to be arrested as a homosexual and risk punishment or even execution, or change your body."

> Government data shows that around 4000 gender reassignment surgeries are performed in Iran each year.

> Amin, however, claims that those numbers are actually much higher in reality.

> "They are trying to cleanse the country of homosexuals," she added.

> "They would rather carry out mass surgeries than executions because they know the world is watching them."