A video appearing to show a crowd of young Iranian women dancing to a controversial song at an impromptu street party in Tehran has gone viral online.
The gathering on the eve of Chaharshanbe Suri, which falls before the fire festival of Nowruz, showed two women dancing gracefully as the hit Farsi song Tehran Tokyo blasted out to the throng of young Iranians.
Neither woman appears to be wearing a headscarf, as is required under Iranian law when in public.
Chaharshanbe Suri, or Scarlet Wednesday, falls on the last Wednesday before Nowruz New Year’s celebrations in the Persian calendar and is celebrated widely across Iran despite its Zoroastrian roots.
As well as street parties, people mark the event by lighting bonfires, leaping over flames big or small, and setting off fireworks.
The song by US-based Iranian rapper Sasy Yafteh, known by his stage name Sasy, caused outrage among hardline politicians and officials in Iran when it was released this month for its lyrics on drug use.
Authorities arrested producers connected to Yafteh, his management company and local journalists over the track’s video, which features the American adult film star Alexis Texas.
But the song became an overnight hit when it was released last week and the teaser video alone has had more than 19 million views on Instagram.
“It’s the big hit song right now. It’d only make sense for it to be playing,” said Holly Dagres, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, who shared clips of the festivities on Twitter.
Despite Iran’s conservative social rules, street parties at which men and women sing and dance are not uncommon on big occasions such as Chaharshanbe Suri.
“Iranians also dance in the streets during big football match wins, like the World Cup,” Ms Dagres said.
It wasn’t an isolated incident, with dozens of clips of people – including other women without headscarves – dancing in the street also appearing online on Wednesday.
In the past, police have used Iran's vaguely defined morality laws to arrest people for dancing in public. Women have also posted videos of themselves dancing in the street as a form of defiance.
But Ms Dagres, and several residents of Tehran who spoke to The National, said such rules are unofficially relaxed during major festivals.
“As long as the fireworks aren’t too big, the police do not come,” said Kouros, 30, who works in tech in Tehran and attended street parties in the capital on Tuesday night.
Melika, a self-employed Iranian resident of Tehran, said this year’s festivities were more subdued than in the past but provided much-needed relief.
“It felt like we all collectively needed to go out, let loose and feel joy. I remember growing up and Chaharshanbe Suri was so intense with all the music and fireworks and the chaos of huge, huge fires. It hasn’t been like that in a while, and this was super-different but still fun and exciting.”
The economy is still reeling from sanctions brought in by former US president Donald Trump, who in 2018 pulled out from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the Iran nuclear deal, and pursued a campaign of “maximum pressure” on Tehran.
The sanctions caused a 6.8 per cent contraction in the Iranian economy last year and an 80 per cent fall in Iranian oil exports.
“People not following Iran closely are always shocked when they see Iranians doing normal things. Even with the advent of the internet and social media, stereotypes about what Iranians look like or do in their daily lives continue to dominate,” Ms Dagres said.
The latest controversy over Tehran Tokyo is not Yafteh's first brush with the authorities. His music has been outlawed in the past and clips he shared online in 2019 showing children in Iranian schools dancing to his songs led Ali Motahari, deputy parliament speaker at the time, to demand the Education Ministry take action against head teachers.
Iranian state media reported on Wednesday that three people died, about 1,900 were injured and 87 lost limbs during Tuesday night’s celebrations across the country.
Police also arrested 25 people for flouting safety rules that ban gatherings during the pandemic.
Iran was the first country in the Middle East to report cases of Covid-19 and has the highest infection and death rate in the region, with 1.7 million confirmed cases and 61,492 deaths.
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Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
RESULTS
Bantamweight
Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK)
(Split decision)
Featherweight
Hussein Salim (IRQ) beat Shakhriyor Juraev (UZB)
(Round 1 submission, armbar)
Catchweight 80kg
Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Otabek Kadirov (UZB)
(Round-1 submission, rear naked choke)
Lightweight
Ho Taek-oh (KOR) beat Ronald Girones (CUB)
(Round 3 submission, triangle choke)
Lightweight
Arthur Zaynukov (RUS) beat Damien Lapilus (FRA)
(Unanimous points)
Bantamweight
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (RUS)
(Round 1 TKO)
Featherweight
Movlid Khaybulaev (RUS) v Zaka Fatullazade (AZE)
(Round 1 rear naked choke)
Flyweight
Shannon Ross (TUR) beat Donovon Freelow (USA)
(Unanimous decision)
Lightweight
Dan Collins (GBR) beat Mohammad Yahya (UAE)
(Round 2 submission D’arce choke)
Catchweight 73kg
Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM) beat Islam Mamedov (RUS)
(Round 3 submission, kneebar)
Bantamweight world title
Xavier Alaoui (MAR) beat Jaures Dea (CAM)
(Unanimous points 48-46, 49-45, 49-45)
Flyweight world title
Manon Fiorot (FRA) v Gabriela Campo (ARG)
(Round 1 RSC)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
India Test squad
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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