Iranian police shut down the Turkish Airlines office in Tehran after female employees allegedly refused to wear the mandatory hijab, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency stated that police visited the office on Monday to issue a first warning about hijab non-compliance. The employees reportedly resisted, prompting the police to close the office. Tasnim mentioned that the office might reopen on Wednesday, though police have not confirmed this. Turkish Airlines has not commented on the incident.

This follows mass protests in Iran after Mahsa Amini’s death in September 2022. She died in custody after being arrested for hijab violations. Although the protests have largely subsided, some Iranian women continue to defy the headscarf mandate, challenging the theocracy.

Iranian authorities have closed hundreds of businesses across the country in recent years. Shops, restaurants, pharmacies, and offices have faced closures for allowing female employees to forgo wearing the hijab. The enforcement intensified before Iran’s presidential election in June, following President Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash a month earlier.

The Turkish Airlines office closure coincided with a call from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iran’s President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian. Erdogan congratulated Pezeshkian on his election victory. Pezeshkian, who defeated hard-liner Saeed Jalili, promised to reach out to the West and ease hijab law enforcement.

Tehran Prosecutor Ali Salehi said no legal proceedings or rulings had been issued regarding the office closure.

Despite this incident, Iran and Turkey maintain strong relations. Bilateral trade reached $5.4 billion in 2023. Turkey remains a popular destination for Iranian tourists, with around 2.5 million visiting last year. Turkish Airlines is favored among Iranians for shorter travel times to the United States and Canada compared to other long-haul flights from Arab countries in the Persian Gulf.