Police in Iran shut down the Turkish Airlines office in the capital of Tehran, Iranian media reported Tuesday, after female employees there apparently refused to wear the mandatory headscarf, or hijab, in an act of defiance of the countrys law.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency said police officers went to the Turkish Airlines office in Tehran on Monday to issue what is called a first warning over the non-observance of hijab by the companys employees.

However, the employees “ who are Iranian nationals “ reportedly made trouble for the police officers, prompting the closure. The Tasnim report said police subsequently sealed the office over the employees behavior.

According to Tasnim, the Turkish Airlines office will be allowed to reopen on Wednesday and resume business as usual, something that the police did not confirm. The report further said that police would not seal any business due to the non-observance of hijab but issue first warnings.

There was no immediate comment from the Turkish Airlines over the incident in Tehran.

An open defiance of the headscarf law erupted into mass protests across Iran following the September 2022 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the countrys morality police. While those demonstrations appear largely to have cooled, the choice by some Iranian women to remain uncovered in the street poses a new challenge to the countrys theocracy. (AP)

FILE PHOTO: Turkish Airlines airplanes are parked at Ataturk International Airport, in Istanbul, April 5, 2019. Iranian media reported on July 9, 2024, that police in Iran closed the airlines Tehran office because its female employees refused to wear the hijab.