Various websites have posted photographs of girls and boys in wet clothes throwing water balloons, firing water guns and splashing each other with water from bottles after the first water fights were reported in the capital a few weeks ago.

The fights have since spread across the country despite warnings from authorities.

They are seen as the latest manifestation of youthful rebellion by Iranians against Islamic norms which require women to cover their hair in public and wear loose-fitting clothes, and where much Western entertainment is banned due to what is considered law morality.

Conservatives say the water fights must be stamped out to prevent what they say is the corruption of Iranian youths, much of which is blamed on a deliberate “soft war” by the West conducted through TV, films and pop music.