Tehran Closes Turkish Airlines Office After Employees Ignore Hijab Rules

In a significant move, Iranian authorities have shut down the Turkish Airlines office in Tehran after female employees reportedly refused to comply with the country’s mandatory headscarf law.

The closure, reported by Iranian media on Tuesday, follows a confrontation between the employees and police officers.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency detailed that police visited the Turkish Airlines office on Monday to issue a “first warning” regarding the non-observance of the hijab by the employees. The employees, all Iranian nationals, allegedly resisted the police, leading to the office’s closure.

Tasnim reported that the police sealed the office due to the employees’ behavior. The incident highlights the ongoing tension surrounding Iran’s strict dress code laws. According to Tasnim, the Turkish Airlines office is expected to reopen on Wednesday and resume normal operations, although this has not been confirmed by the police.

The report also noted that typically, businesses are not permanently closed for hijab violations but are issued warnings first. The confrontation occurred on the same day Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated Iran’s President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian on his recent election victory.

Pezeshkian, who defeated hard-liner Saeed Jalili, has promised to engage with the West and ease the enforcement of the mandatory headscarf law, a stance that comes after years of sanctions and widespread protests in Iran.

Tehran Prosecutor Ali Salehi clarified to the state-run IRNA news agency that no legal proceedings or rulings had been issued regarding the sealing of the Turkish Airlines office. This indicates the closure may be temporary and more a matter of immediate enforcement rather than a legal mandate.

Turkish Airlines is particularly popular among Iranians due to its shorter travel times to the United States and Canada compared to flights from Gulf Arab countries. This incident occurs against a backdrop of strong Iran-Turkey relations, with bilateral trade reaching $5.4 billion in 2023. Additionally, Turkey remains a favored tourist destination for Iranians, with 2.5 million visiting last year.