Iran International
Authorities in Iran are increasingly targeting businesses rather than individuals who refuse to observe the theocracy’s strict social laws around veiling and gender mixing, several café owners and citizens told Iran International.
Police reportedly shut down the popular clothing brand Gin West’s store on Farshchian Street in Tehran on October 10, one day after a mixed-gender private celebration.
The brand’s Instagram page was also blocked. The semi-official website Asianews Iran described the move as part of a broader campaign seeking “greater control over social spaces, combating displays of wealth, and stricter enforcement of moral laws.”
Business owners say Tehran’s message is clear: any public display of happiness, especially involving men and women together, will be treated as defiance.
‘Example for others’
The campaign follows a series of viral videos showing social events in urban centers, including a “coffee party” on Kish Island that drew sharp reactions from officials.
A female café owner in Tehran who has endured multiple police raids told Iran International that officials routinely demand exorbitant bail sums from detainees — often “billions of rials” regardless of their financial status.
“They want to make examples of us. They use our businesses as warning signs for others,” she said, adding that security forces appear particularly focused on gatherings involving young people.
Analysts say the regime’s anxiety stems from the fear that a single dance party could inspire a chain of similar acts of defiance.
‘Fear us constant’
Videos have surfaced on Iranian social media in recent weeks showing café owners in cities such as Dezful and Qom expressing remorse for hosting events with music or mixed dancing and urging customers to obey hijab laws to avoid punishment.
“These are not just moral warnings,” said a café employee in Tehran. “They are psychological operations. They want us to police ourselves and silence each other, especially women.”
He added that many business owners now censor themselves preemptively, refusing to host birthday parties or small music gatherings out of fear of closure. “They use sealing as a tool of intimidation,” he said. “The fear is constant.”
‘Genie is out of the bottle’
Beyond enforcing social codes, evidence suggests the state is using business closures as a weapon of political retaliation.
Information obtained by Iran International indicates that in at least two cases, authorities sealed businesses in Tehran because the owners or their relatives were involved in political or protest activities.
A café worker in Mashhad said the government believes harsh enforcement will discourage others from hosting social gatherings.
“They think sealing and arrests will stop people,” he said. “But every day there are more of these events. The genie is out of the bottle and it won’t go back in.”
In the absence of public spaces for leisure or free expression, modern cafés have become rare sanctuaries: informal hubs for art, conversation, and community among Iran’s youth.
By closing these spaces and criminalizing joy, the government risks deepening public resentment. The government may hope intimidation will restore its version of order, but its tactics appear only to fuel defiance.
As one café owner in north Tehran put it, “Every time they close a door, another one opens. You can’t ban happiness forever.”
