Iran clamps down on dog owners in Tehran (but Mullahs keep their guard dogs)

Iran’s forward-thinking mullahs have decided to ban dog-walking in the capital city of Tehran in an effort to clampdown on Iranians owning dogs. 

And if any Persian dog owner thinks he can just throw Fido in the back seat and drive past Tehran’s city limits to walk the pooch, well, transporting a dog in a car is now illegal, too.

In a Telegraph story, Tehran police chief Hossein Rahimi notes:

“We have received permission from the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office, and will take measures against people walking dogs in public spaces, such as parks.”

Of course, public dog-walking ranks as the #1 problem facing Iran today...

The ostensible policy reason for banning dogs according to the police chief is that dogs create “fear and anxiety” among members of the public.

Chief Rahimi has the doggie dilemma half-right. There is indeed “fear and anxiety” in Tehran, and it has existed for some four decades now. But the source of it isn’t the canine population, but rather, the fundamentalist whack-jobs running the country.

Interestingly, it seems the very same Mullahs aren’t opposed to the existence of guard dogs though. What could possibly explain this double-standard?

I guess having a few battalions of German Shepherds and Doberman Pincers on standby in case the populace revolts again, might indeed make them man’s best friend even to a hardcore Islamist mullah — if it helps prevent regime change.