Tehran shuts down 547 restaurants for breaking ‘Islamic principles’

Iranian police have shut down 547 restaurants and cafes over a 10-day period in Tehran for not observing "Islamic principles".

"The owners of restaurants and cafes in which Islamic principles were not observed were confronted, and during this operation 547 businesses were closed and 11 offenders arrested," Hossein Rahimi said, quoted on the police's website.

Among the infractions uncovered by police were "unconventional online marketing of the business, playing illegal music and debauchery," the Fars news agency reported.

In recent years, thousands of modern cafes and restaurants have sprung up across Tehran, playing Western music and where many women customers forego their headscarves — for which offenders can be arrested and fined.

Radio Farda reported the Tehran restaurant closures were just the tip of the iceberg, citing local media.

Iran's third largest city, Isfahan, also saw 305 restaurants closed, while police operations against eateries took place in several other cities.

In Iran, all restaurants must remain closed during the fasting hours of Ramadan, a rule that some restaurant owners quietly flout, along with the ban on alcohol.

Iran recently stepped up enforcement of breaches of acceptable social and moral conduct, by expanding its so-called morality police by 2,000 units in one northern province, according to Britain's Daily Telegraph.