'Morality police' shut down cafes

Iranian police shut down dozens of restaurants and coffee shops over the weekend, Iranian media reported, in a renewed crackdown…

Iranian police shut down dozens of restaurants and coffee shops over the weekend, Iranian media reported, in a renewed crackdown on what the state sees as immoral and un-Islamic behaviour.

Regular officers and members of the “morality police” raided 87 cafes and restaurants in a single district of the capital Tehran on Saturday and arrested women for flouting the Islamic dress code, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency.

“These places were shut for not following Islamic values, providing hookah [water pipes] to women, and lacking proper licences,” said Tehran police official Alireza Mehrabi.

He added that the raids would continue in other parts of Tehran. – (Reuters)