Walking dogs in “public spaces, such as parks”, and even driving them around in cars, will make pet owners liable for prosecution.

The new rules were announced by Tehran police chief Hossein Rahimi, who said he had “received permission from the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office” to “take measures”.

Islamic authorities in Iran regard dog ownership as western and “unclean”.

Owning dogs has been negatively associated with the fallen Iranian monarchy since the 1979 revolution.