Such operations, which see police screening foot and vehicle traffic at  major junctions and shopping centres, are conducted fairly often in Iran.

The latest one was ordered days ahead of the May 4 second round of  parliamentary elections, and as the onset of warm spring weather prompts  Iranian women to don lighter clothing.

The police chief, Hossein Sajedinia, said the crackdown was “asked for by  the people,” the Fars news agency reported. Women wearing “bad headscarves, bad dress, and model-type women in vulgar  dress” would be stopped, he said.

Typically, such women are fined or detained in police stations until  relatives collect them hours later with more modest clothing.

Sajedinia said that companies importing “illegal clothes” that do not  comply with Islamic dress standards would be given a warning or closed.

The police chief said that “thugs” disrupting public order and men “who  bother other people’s daughters and wives” would also be confronted by officers. -- AFP