A man and a woman have been arrested in Iran after a video clip of their public marriage proposal went viral.
Footage shared on social media shows the man standing in a heart-shaped ring of flower petals with red and white balloons covering the floor.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The woman says yes to his offer of marriage, before accepting the engagement ring and embracing her partner in front of a crowd of cheering onlookers.
Mostafa Norouzi, deputy police chief in Arak, told the local press that the display went against the country’s strict Islamic values.
It is unacceptable for young people “to do whatever is common in other places of the world and disregard mores, culture and religion” in Iran, he said.
The pair’s “offense is very clear and there is no need for explanation” about the reason for their arrest, Norouzi added.
But lawyer Isa Amini, head of the Tehran Bar Association, said he could not understand what the grounds were for the arrest as the couple did not commit any wrongdoing, the Associated Press reports.
The pair have since been released on bail.
It is not the first time Iran’s laws on public decency have received international attention, says the BBC.
Last year, a teenage girl was arrested after she posted a clip of herself dancing on Instagram, and in 2014 a group of young people were detained for appearing in a video dancing to Pharrell Williams’ song Happy.
-
One great cookbook: Joshua McFadden’s ‘Six Seasons of Pasta’the week recommends The pasta you know and love. But ever so much better.
-
Scientists are worried about amoebasUnder the radar Small and very mighty
-
Buddhist monks’ US walk for peaceUnder the Radar Crowds have turned out on the roads from California to Washington and ‘millions are finding hope in their journey’
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Which way will Trump go on Iran?Today’s Big Question Diplomatic talks set to be held in Turkey on Friday, but failure to reach an agreement could have ‘terrible’ global ramifications
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Iran unleashes carnage on its own peopleFeature Demonstrations began in late December as an economic protest
-
How oil tankers have been weaponisedThe Explainer The seizure of a Russian tanker in the Atlantic last week has drawn attention to the country’s clandestine shipping network
