Two young women have been arrested in Iran over a dance video, according to local media. The Iranian news agency Tasnim reported on Saturday that the Tehran public prosecutor's office had ordered the arrests for an alleged violation of "social rules".

In the video, the two women dance near Tajrish Square in northern Tehran. They are wearing the red costume of Haji Firouz, a folkloric figure who announces the Persian New Year festival Nouruz, which begins on March 20, with music and dancing in the streets.

Islamic law in Iran prohibits women from dancing in public. At the beginning of 2023, a young couple was sentenced to more than ten years in prison for a dance video. The couple, in their early twenties, were accused of violating national security and spreading depravity.

Last year, too, several women were arrested for dancing in public places, supporting the "Jin Jiyan Azadî" (Woman, Life, Freedom) revolution movement, which was sparked by the death of Jina Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old Kurdish woman was arrested by the morality police in 2022 for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code. Having suffered torture, she died in police custody.