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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/world/middleeast/iran-dog...

> Iran’s government has also long seen pet dogs as a sign of Western cultural influence. And much of the opposition to dogs in Iran stems from religious beliefs, with dogs considered to be “najes,” or impure, in Islam.

> Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, had issued a fatwa, or religious order, explaining the logic: A dog’s saliva or hair would render anything it touched — like a person, clothing or a surface — impure.

> “Dog walking is considered a threat to health and is considered a criminal behavior under the name of harassment of women and children,” Mr. Doroudi said, according to IRNA.

> “We are experiencing economic difficulties, but the dog lovers are spending billions of dollars each year for dog food,” [Hamidreza Taraghi] said. “We need that money for more important things.”

> In Hamedan, in western Iran, the provincial prosecutor’s office said that walking dogs or driving with them was “against religious and social values,” and “considered a threat to public health,” according to IRNA. Abbas Najafi, the prosecutor, said that dog walking was “considered a threat to the health, comfort and tranquillity of citizens,” according to IRNA.

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