TEHRAN - An Iranian fashion organisation has issued a new list of culturally appropriate haircuts for men, possibly indicating a new crackdown on male attire after years of strict rules for women, Iranian media reported.

TEHRAN - An Iranian fashion organisation has issued a new list of culturally appropriate haircuts for men, possibly indicating a new crackdown on male attire after years of strict rules for women, Iranian media reported.

Although the ministry of culture has yet to officially adopt the styles presented by the Veil and Modesty Festival, the organisation said approval is pending. It would be the first such rules for men's hair styles since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"We introduced the hairstyles to the culture ministry," said Jaleh Khodayar, head of the group, telling Iranian newspapers that it had been approved informally and a statement would soon be made.

Clothing and hair styles have become a highly visible political statement in Iran since the first stirrings of the reform movement in the late 1990s. Some men, too, push boundaries with earrings, long hair and ponytails.

Beards or heavy facial stubble - worn by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and others - are considered signs of religious piety and loyalty to Iran's ruling clerics.

The new hair regulations are aimed at confronting "Western cultural invasion". - Sapa-AP