Iran Crackdown Against Western Influence Includes Men's Necklaces

Iran is ramping up its campaign against what it sees as the threat of Western-style male accessorizing with a ban on necklaces, reports the Guardian. The religious oligarchy is sending 70,000 morality cops into the streets to enforce this latest in a series of jihads on all things that smack of what it considers American decadence and depravity.

Iranian men can't wear necklaces, and women are barred from wearing loose headscarves or tight jackets. (Getty Images Photo)

The special police force will be looking for men’s necklaces and other prohibited style choices, which also include loose headscarves and tight jackets for women. Women must be covered from head to toe, even in the intense summer heat, while men can wear short-sleeved shirts but not fancy haircuts.

The nation’s parliament recently considered a bill to outlaw ownership of dogs because, according to the Guardian, it "poses a cultural problem, a blind imitation of the vulgar culture of the West.”

"The enforcement of the moral security plan was requested by the nation and it will be continued until people's concerns are properly addressed," the Guardian quotes an Iranian police commander as saying.

One Tehran resident who spoke with the Guardian suggested that the crackdown may have less to do with “vulgar” Western style, and more to do with maintaining control and keeping the people afraid as unrest continues to rage across the Middle East.

"It's not only about clamping down on clothing, but they are spreading panic and fear by sending out this much of police into the streets under the name of this plan, to control the society,” the anonymous Iranian is quoted as saying. “It's unbelievable to see a regime that is not only concerned about its own survival but it goes into your personal life and interferes in that."