Iranian authorities have sealed at least 42 cafés, restaurants, shops, sports clubs and other businesses across the country in the past three weeks, over compulsory hijab rules and what officials describe as violations of Islamic norms.
The figure is based on individual closure cases reported separately by state media and rights groups.
The closures were reported in at least 17 cities, including Tehran, Mashhad, Yazd, Kerman, Ardabil and Birjand, and affected cafés and restaurants, women's gyms, shops and a cultural center.
In just three weeks, the number of closures has already reached about 22% of the 191 cases HRANA documented over the entire previous Iranian calendar year.
Cafés, shops and gyms targeted
Among the latest cases, an optician in Qaen was sealed on Wednesday after authorities said customers and employees had failed to comply with compulsory hijab rules.
The Yin Yang café in Khomein was sealed over what authorities described as "improper hijab" and Instagram content, while a women's clothing store called Shabnam Maison in Kerman was also shut.
A café-restaurant in Tehran's Velenjak district was sealed a day earlier. Authorities in Ardabil also closed three coffee shops and arrested 16 people in connection with the businesses.
Hossein Salari, Ardabil's deputy prosecutor, said inspections of cafés would increase and authorities would act against shops selling clothing that he described as contrary to Islamic law or harmful to "public chastity."
Three cafés in Mashhad, Bojnourd and Birjand were sealed on August 10. Authorities also shut the Zhovan café in Minudasht on August 9 and the Arghavan café-bookstore in Mashhad on August 5.
The enforcement has extended beyond cafés. Two sports clubs in Borujerd were sealed by judicial order on August 4, while authorities shut a Shahr-e Ketab bookstore in Babol the same day.
Four women's sports clubs were also sealed in Yazd, while authorities in Abadeh shut five businesses and arrested a café operator.
In Dezful, the local prosecutor announced the closure of 15 cafés and hookah lounges on July 23.
Enforcement rises sharply in Mashhad
Authorities have used terms including failure to observe compulsory hijab, "violations of norms," failure to observe "Islamic standards," and promotion of indecency to explain the closures.
Some businesses have also faced other accusations. Authorities in Ardabil cited alleged gambling and promotion of corruption among the reasons for closing three cafés.
One café in Mashhad was cited for issues including failing to list matcha on its price list and selling cakes and desserts without required health certification. Police described the alleged violations at four women's gyms in Yazd only as "disciplinary offenses."
Official figures from Mashhad point to a sharp rise in closures.
Mohsen Sayadi, the city's head of trade inspection and supervision, said authorities sealed 104 businesses during the first four months of the current Iranian year, which began on March 21, compared with five during the same period a year earlier - an increase of about twentyfold.
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