Crackdown shows thawing of relations with the west only goes so far as garments are stripped from shelves, stores closed and vendors detained

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Iranian police have arrested merchants for selling clothing that featured the flags of the United States and Britain, local media reported.



Garments imprinted with “Satanic symbols” were also seized from stores in Tehran, city police chief General Hossein Sajedinia was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying.

“This morning we took these clothes off leading distributors,” he said, noting that any stores that sell such items “will be closed”. Sajedinia said reports about the activity had been received in the past two weeks, leading to surveillance and detentions.

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A 14 July deal between Iran and six powers led by the US over Tehran’s nuclear programme was met by celebrations in the capital, particularly among young people keen for Iran’s isolation to end.

After the nuclear deal, Britain and Iran reopened their respective embassies in Tehran and London last month following a four-year closure.

But Iran’s senior leaders have said nothing will change in their approach towards the US.



Washington broke off diplomatic relations with Tehran in 1980 after students seized its embassy and took dozens of hostages during the Islamic revolution the previous year.



Britain and the the US orchestrated a coup in 1953 that toppled Mohammad Mossadegh as prime minister after he nationalised the oil industry.

The leader of the Islamic revolution, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, dubbed the United States the “Great Satan” on account of its policies and support for Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last royal ruler before the Islamic republic was founded.