IRAN today banned all advertisements in the country for pets, pet shops, pet food and other pet products, claiming that people's love for their dogs and cats may lead to "evil outcomes".

The edict, announced by Iran's powerful Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, is based on a fatwa issued by Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, 86, a hardliner who lives in Iran’s holy city of Qom.

Declaring dogs in particular to be unclean under Sharia, he condemned Iranian dog owners for “blindly imitating the West” and warned that their infatuation would lead to “evil outcomes”, according to the state-run Mehr news agency.

“Many people in the West love their dogs more than their wives and children,” the Grand Ayatollah declared.

Owning pets, particularly dogs, has become increasingly popular in recent years among Iran’s wealthy urban elite, many of whom loathe the present regime. The police sometimes stop people for walking their dogs in parks and other public places.

Grand Ayatollah Shirazi has in the past issued fatwas objecting to women attending football matches, and proclaiming smoking to be religiously illicit.

In July the regime cracked down on “decadent” Western hairstyles. The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance published a guide to male haircuts that approved of short, neat hair and appeared to allow quiffs and gel - but ruled out mullets, ponytails and spikes.