Iran man 'drives car into two women' for 'not wearing hijab'

Two women were seriously injured in north-western Iran on Monday after a man allegedly drove his car into them for not wearing hijabs, local reports say.

The attack took place in the city of Urmia, where the driver reportedly and harassed the women for their "un-Islamic" dress, according to the Ilna news agency.

This led to an argument, which reportedly resulted in the man ramming the women with his car, leaving them badly hurt.

The women are no longer in a life-threatening condition but remain seriously injured, according to Ilna.

The driver attempted to flee the scene but was later found and arrested.

Judicial officials condemned the attack and said they would not condone vigilante justice, despite senior Iranian officials being consistently accused of provoking attacks on women who choose not to wear the mandatory hijab.

In February, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled that women depicted in cartoons or animated films must wear the hijab.

Last year, two senior Iranian clerics called on police to "make surroundings unsafe" for women who do not wear the hijab.

Hardline conservative Ayatollah Yousef Tabatabei Nejad decried women who "removed their hijab" as well as those who wore "loose hijab", referring to women who do not fully cover their hair.

He said that authorities had a duty to make "surroundings unsafe" for women falling under both categories, and said police should have "more authority" to deal with them, without specifying details.

In 2014, similar statements from religious figures were believed to have prompted a wave of acid attacks of women in Isfahan.

Wearing the hijab and modest clothing became mandatory for women in Iran, following the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Women have regularly been targeted by the republic's morality police, known as Gasht-e Ershad, for showing hair in public or for "improperly" wearing the hijab.