Authorities shut down a sports club in central Iran for holding mixed-gender exercise sessions and arrested the organizers of a “coffee party” on Kish Island amid an ongoing struggle between clerical rulers and the public over social freedoms.
The gym operating in the city of Yazd was sealed by local authorities and a case was opened against its manager, head of the provincial Public Places Surveillance Police said.
"Judicial officials, police officers, and a representative from the local sports and youth department visited the venue and found young men and women working out together," Colonel Ali-Akbar Tabaei said.
The Public Places Surveillance Police, a branch of Iran’s Law Enforcement, monitors businesses and public spaces to enforce Islamic social norms, including gender segregation and dress codes, and can refer violations to judicial authorities.
In a separate incident on Sunday, authorities arrested the organizers of a mixed-gender “coffee party” on Kish Island, a resort island in southern Iran, after videos of the celebration surfaced on social media.
The local prosecutor described the event as “a norm-breaking and illegal act.”
According to US-based rights group HRANA, at least 536 commercial venues were shut down across Iran in 2024, mostly for non-commercial reasons such as violating hijab rules, operating during Ramadan, or opening on religious mourning days.
