TEHRAN: Iranian police said on Sunday authorities had closed more than 150 businesses in 24 hours for not respecting the obligation for women to wear headscarves under Iran’s strict Islamic dress code.

The closures were announced a day after police said they have now implemented a plan to deal with women who violate the law, using surveillance cameras and facial recognition technology.

The requirement for women to wear the headscarf in public was enshrined in law shortly after the Islamic revolution of 1979.

“Unfortunately, police have had to seal 137 shops and 18 restaurants and reception areas for not heeding previous warnings” on the dress code, the Tasnim news agency quoted police spokesman Said Montazerolmahdi as saying.

The crackdown comes after the number of women defying the code has risen since a protest movement triggered by the death in custody last year of Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini, 22, for allegedly flouting it.